Surprise!
by TheSunIsStillDark
Summary: What? Danny's completely incompetent ghost hunting parents are teaching a new class? About ghosts? At his school! How will Danny react to this? And something is suspicious... What's the real reason for this new ghost hunting/safety class?
1. Chapter 1

**Inspiration! It hit me again. I love new ideas. Of course, I'm sure this idea has already been used but... I need it my way.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.**

"Once upon a time there was a ghost named Danny Phantom, but his real name was Inviso- bill, and he fell in love with the stunningly beautiful popular girl named Paulina. And then they got married and Inviso- bill carried her off into the sunset where-"

" Paulina. Enough." Mr. Lancer cut in, marking a zero on her report about Danny Phantom. This wasn't a story telling assignment. The students were supposed to give their opinion on the teen ghost hero, not explain their fantasies about him.

" But Mr. Lancer! Inviso- bill IS in love with me! And if this is about our opinions, then mine is that he will marry me and have-"

" Paulina!" Lancer barked. " Go back to your seat."

Paulina frowned at the teacher, but walked stiffly back and took her seat, muttering about unfairness. The teacher sighed.

" Next up, Mr. Fenton." Lancer instructed. " You know the drill. As soon as you start speaking, I start the timer, your oral presentation must be over one minute at least." he readied his hand over the stop watch. Danny made his way to the front of the class and cleared his throat.

" Umm... Well, first off, his name is NOT Inviso- bill. It's Danny. Danny Phantom. Danny Phantom is misunderstood by a lot of people. He truly is trying to protect the town from ghosts. Most people automatically classify him as evil because of the belief that all ghosts are evil, when in fact that is completely untrue. Just like there are good and bad people, there are good and bad ghosts. Mostly I... mean Danny Phantom is just trying to keep all the evil ghosts out of Amity Park." Danny paused, knowing he almost let it slip that he, in fact WAS Danny Phantom. " And if he was evil, why would he go at such great lengths to protect people? There may have been a few questionable moments, like the robberies, but he was being controlled by an evil ringmaster. If you re-watch the footage, you'll see his eyes were red instead of green. He would never intentionally steal or harm anybody. And do ever consider the personal cost? I mean, he may a ghost, but he has a personal life too. Or rather afterlife. Whichever." Danny shrugged.

" Mr. Fenton, I may be interrupting, you seem to know a lot about this ghost." Lancer said. It wasn't a question, but it sounded slightly like a accusation. Or maybe that was just Danny's imagination.

" Well..." Danny's face blushed slightly. " My parents are ghost hunters, they know a lot about all ghost. And so naturally, I do too." he shrugged.

" But your parents hate Inviso- bill. But you seem to have another opinion entirely." Lancer pointed out.

" It's Danny Phantom." Danny corrected again. " And my parents are wrong. They still think that all ghosts are evil remains of post-human consciousness, but their wrong."

" But haven't they been studying ghosts longer than you've even been alive. You would think professionals would know more than just their own kid?" Lancer raised an eyebrow.

" That doesn't mean their right."

" But haven't they captured ghosts and proven this?" Lancer asked curiously. Danny snorted.

" Not to make them seem incompetent, but they honestly couldn't catch a ghost if it was living under their own roof." Danny smiled at some inside joke. " They would probably wouldn't even realize it if a ghost was eating dinner at the same table as them. Seriously, their too judgmental too see the facts."

" Very interesting, Mr. Fenton. I have one more question. Why do you think Inviso- bill is trying to help the town, if it takes so much time out of his personal 'life'?" Mr. Lancer asked. Danny sighed.

" Because protecting the defenseless humans is the right thing to do. It's much more satisfying to know your at least trying to do the right thing." he shrugged.

After marking the first A Danny had ever got in Lancers class on his paper, the teacher said, " Excellent job, Mr. Fenton. You may take your seat."

Danny nodded. " Just remember. It's DANNY PHANTOM! Not Inviso- bill. That name is just- ugh." He shuddered as he took his seat. His two best friends, Sam and Tucker winked at him.

" Next up." Mr. Lancer exclaimed. " Valerie Gray."

The huntress didn't waste any time getting up there to express her opinion.

" Danny Phantom is clearly tricking us. He's a ghost for crying out loud! That's what ghosts do, they trick the humans. Please don't fall for his 'hero' acts. He is nothing but a putrid pile of ectoplasmic scum that is trying to pass himself off as a 'good' ghost." Danny Fenton winced in his seat. Valerie noticed. " And Fenton, I can see he has obviously got you fooled. But-"

" No Valerie." Danny cut in. " He does not have me fooled. He isn't trying to trick anyone. You just hold a grudge against him. But didn't he apologize? He never meant to destroy Axion Labs."

" Yeah. I know." Valerie said. " It was that stupid dog of his that he LET destroy my fathers work. It was all his fault that I-"

" Inviso- bill has a dog?" Paulina interrupted.

" No!" Danny shouted. " For the last time, Cujo is NOT my... I mean Phantoms dog! It was once a guard dog that had actually worked for Axion, but when they upgraded security, they had put all the dogs to sleep and Cujo had left behind his-"

" That little squeaky thing?" Valerie growled. "Whatever. That MUTT still ruined my life!"

" I said I was sorry!" Danny burst out. But then he quickly covered his mouth. " I mean... I'm so sorry that a ghost did that to you... "

" Why would YOU be sorry Fenton?" Valerie asked. Danny paled.

" I meant... I feel sorry that... A ghost made your father lose his job." Danny said.

" It doesn't change the fact that one did, and anyway, save your remorse." Valerie said. " I don't need it."

" Whatever." Danny shrugged. Lancer cleared his throat.

" Miss Gray. Please continue."

Valerie nodded. " As I was saying, Phantom is an elusive, tricky, evil ghost obviously bent on destroying innocent lives-"

" That's not true!" Paulina screamed. " Phantom is a caring, loving ghost who only wants what's best for people! And he is in love with me!" she squeaked at the end.

" Paulina, your too blind to see that he's a menace. And he can't love you because ghosts don't have feelings. They don't love. That's why their all evil." Valerie spat.

" Untrue." Danny stood up. " Ghosts DO have feelings! Granted, most of them only feel the anger and hate that they carried into their next life, but not all are evil. And yes, ghosts CAN love. They have all the feelings humans do."

" What makes you think so, Fenton?" Valerie asked.

" I don't think so. I know so." he said.

" Right." she said scathingly. " Even your parents, the Ghost experts, say that ghosts don't feel."

" They've only studied non-sentient formations of ectoplasm. They never captured a REAL ghost and studied it." Danny argued.

" What? Have you? How do you know?" she asked. Danny was about to reply but Paulina cut him off.

" Danny, do you think the ghost boy loves me? If ghosts can feel, then he has to, right? Because all the boys here are utterly infatuated with me, why would the ghost boy be any different?" she asked. Danny sighed and glanced at Sam. He had a secret crush in her for months now.

" I don't think so Paulina." he told her. Paulina's face contorted.

" Why!?" she wailed. " Were meant to be together!"

" He's a ghost, Paulina." Valerie cut in. " Of course he doesn't love you."

" Him being a ghost has nothing to do with it." Danny stated.

" Stay out of this, Fenton. You obviously don't know the first thing when it comes to Phantom." Valerie shot. Tucker and Sam started choking back laughter. Danny tried to keep a straight face.

" I think you have that backwards." Danny muttered.

" As much as I hate to say this." Dash began. " Fenton's right. Danny Phantom isn't evil. He's the coolest superhero ever. This one time, he saved me from this giant mouse-"

" He's just trying to trick you, Dash." Valerie cut in.

" No way! You should've seen him! He-"

" Ugh!" Valerie groaned.

" I wonder what our babies will look like!" Paulina giggled.

" Aww! They would be like little ghost babies!" Star exclaimed. Danny slapped his forehead with his palm.

" Children!" Mr. Lancer yelled. " Calm down. I think Miss Gray made her opinion on Inviso- bill quite clear. Now you may all take a seat. Next up. Dash Baxter." he pointed at the jock. Dash enthusiastically jumped in front of the class.

" He is so awesome! He is the coolest super hero ever! Once we were both shrunk down by some shrinking invention that Fenturd's dad made, and he lost his powers, but he was still so cool and he took over this mouse and-"

" Baxter. This is not story telling time." Lancer told him. Dash shut up and nodded his head.

" Whatever. Anyway he is the coolest super hero ever. And I think he's good because he's the coolest super hero ever because he can fly and he can defeat his enemies and he's so cool." Dash said. Danny chuckled.

" Wow. How many times did Dash just call me cool?" He laughed lightly to his friends. They grinned.

" I think Dash has a habit of repeating himself." Sam noted.

" Can't he think of any other reasons why I'm good besides 'he's the coolest super hero ever'?" Danny asked in a hushed tone.

Tucker laughed. " I think it's past his mental capacity."

" The sad thing is that I think Tucker's right." Sam whispered back. Danny laughed.

" Is there something you would like to share, Fenton, that has got you three laughing so hard?" Lancer asked.

" N-no sir. Sorry." Danny stuttered.

" Very well. Baxter. You may take your seat." He said. Then Mr. Lancer stood up.

" Well I think that's everyone. Anyway, the reason I assigned you all to give your opinion on Inviso- bill, is because the school board has been working with Amity Parks professional HUMAN ghost hunters. And we've decided that as long as Amity is the most haunted city in America, our school should hold a mandatory ghost safety/ hunting class. Taught by the ghost hunters themselves, this new class will take place of your first elective of the day." He paused to give Danny a suspicious glance. He looked pale, like he was suddenly feeling ill. "Class dismissed." he waved the students out just as the bell rang.

**Oh! How will Danny react to the fact that his parents are teaching a ghost hunting class? Stay tuned for chapter two!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

" Great. This is just perfect." Danny ranted as he slung his back back carelessly on the floor. " My parents teaching a class at my school about ghosts! Oh, think of all the things that could go wrong!"

" Danny." Sam put a hand on his shoulder. " Come on. It's not like anything major will come out of this. So you'll have to sit through some ghost class your parents are teaching. It's not the end of the world." Sam comforted him.

" Ugh. I guess your right Sam. But still. UGH!" he flopped down on his bed, suddenly exhausted.

" What's the worst that could happen?" Tucker asked. Sam and Danny groaned and at the same time said;

" You jinxed it!"

Tucker cringed. He held up his hands. " Sorry!" he muttered.

" Look on the bright side, Danny. You'll probably get a good grade in this class, considering you already know everything about ghosts. In fact, we can all probably ace this class." Sam said.

" I thought you'd prefer to look on the dark and glom my side, Sam. After all, you are a goth." Danny told her. Sam frowned.

" Fine. The worst that could happen would be if your parents somehow exposed your secret with their stupid inventions or some other crap. They might take you and lock you in the lab, preform painful test and experiments, cut you open to study your anatomy or whatever, and not to mention rip you apart molecule by-"

" I get the idea, Sam." Danny said as he closed his eyes. He yawned. " I think I'm going to get as much sleep as I can before the next ghost attack."

" That's our cue to leave." Tucker said as he headed for the door. Sam, however hesitated, standing at the edge of Danny's bed for a few moments. Danny noticed she was still there after a few minutes and blushed. He cracked an eye open.

" You going, Sam? I'm not that interesting when I nap. Unless you really like staring at me." He told her. She blushed.

" Oh, right. I was just... Um, just leaving actually." she said before turning in her heal and leaving. Danny sighed and the sides of his lips tugged up into a smile.

" Did you need to give Danny a goodbye kiss without me there, Sam?" Tucker joked when she'd caught up with him. She blushed again.

" Shut up." she told him.

" Someone's in luuuvvv..." Tucker sang. Sam punched him. "Ow!" He exclaimed.

" I said shut up!"

•.•.•.

" And this is the Fenton Ghost Gabber!" Danny's father eagerly shouted to the class.

" And this is the Fenton Ghost Gabber. Fear me." the infernal device repeated in a bland voice.

" It turns all that jibber jabber that ghosts make into regular English. Although there are still a few bugs to work out." He said.

" Although there are still a few bugs to work out. Fear me." it repeated. Danny chuckled. That device was by far the most useless. And of course, it was the first one that his dad decided to show the class.

" And this," Maddie Fenton said, stepping up in front of her husband, " Is the Fenton Booo- merang. It locks onto a ghosts ectoplasmic signature and follows it." she demonstrated by throwing it.

" Oh, no." Danny muttered as the metal object flew towards his head. He tried to duck, but it followed his movement and slammed into the back of his head. " Ow." he groaned, rubbing his scalp.

" Although why it's keyed into Danny is beyond me. It should only target ghosts." His mother said. Danny winced. Valerie's eyes narrowed. Dash laughed.

" What did you do to him? Play lab rat when he was younger? I'd always known that you were a freak, Fenton." Dash chortled. Danny turned red. This was getting close to his secret. Dangerously close. This stupid class would be the end what normalcy his life still had!

" Why, we would never experiment on our son!" Maddie exclaimed to Dash. " It must just be a mistake. After all, we still haven't perfected it. It must be some error we haven't found."

" Or maybe Fenton's a ghost!" Dash said. Danny shrunk down. Oh man. This was bad. Thankfully his mother just laughed.

" Why, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard!" she chortled. " It's completely impossible for a someone to be both a ghost and human at the same time. You'd have to first receive a life threatening electric shock and have ectoplasm fused into your DNA, rearranging your molecules."

" Wait. That means it IS possible?" Valerie suddenly asked. Danny cringed. This was bad. This was so very bad.

" Like I said." Maddie explained, " It's impossible. There's no place that would both shock you and infuse ectoplasm at the exact same time."

" And besides," Jack cut in, " Danny here has never shown any signs that he could be hosting ghost powers."

Valerie stared across the room at Danny suspiciously. He wiped the sweat off his brow. Tucker and Sam sent sympathetic looks, with a hint of fear that they were trying to hide. Danny suddenly laughed.

" I think I would know myself if I were a ghost. And last time I checked, I was fully human." A little white lie could hurt nobody. Maddie smiled.

" Exactly, well have to work on the Fenton Boomerang later." she said. Suddenly Paulina raised her hand. " Yes Paulina?"

" Do you know the ghost boy?" she asked.

" What a change of subject." Danny muttered to his friends. " That was so close it was scary."

" I agree." Sam whispered back. " We need to be extra careful."

Tucker nodded in agreement along with Danny.

" The ghost boy, also known as Inviso-bill, or Phantom, is an evil menace trying to pass himself off as a hero." Maddie replied. Paulina gasped.

" No!"

" She's right." Valerie spoke. " That ghost and his dog made my dad lose his job. He's nothing but a low-down, good for nothing, lying, stealing-"

What a great time for Danny's ghost sense to go off. He suddenly jerked out of his seat. Valerie glared at him for interrupting her.

" I need to- to... Go to the bathroom!" Danny cried as suddenly he heard the most annoying sound ever. One word.

" Beware!" Danny slapped his face, realizing he made a fool of himself for nothing. " For I am the Box Gho-"

" Ghost!" Jack Fenton cried. He suddenly slung a thermos from his jumpsuit and pointed it at the annoyance. Danny slunk back to his seat, trying not to be noticed. " Take that you Ecto- scum!" Jack yelled as he sucked the ghost into the thermos. He capped it proudly. " And that." he said, " is how you capture a ghost."

He got a small round of applause. Danny face palmed in his seat.

" Sweetie? Is something wrong?" Danny's mother asked. Danny blushed profusely. " I thought you needed to go to the bathroom?" she asked.

" I, um... Yeah. Wait, no! Never mind. I don't. Can we continue with class?" He asked. Maddie smiled at her son, secretly suspecting that SOMETHING was off.

" Of course, sweetie!" She exclaimed. She looked at her husband. " Jack?"

" This is a Fenton thermos!" He said loudly. " As you've just seen, it captures ghosts and keeps them trapped until we release them back into the ghost zone where they belong." he held up the thermos with the box ghost in it. Danny sighed and slumped in his seat. This was going horribly. The first day of class and they had already debated weather Danny was a ghost. This was perfect. Right.

•.•.•.

" The first day in that class and guess what happens!" Danny threw his arms up dramatically. His sister sighed.

" What happened?" She asked.

" Dash just had to ask if I were a ghost. Way to bring on suspicion." he muttered.

" Well, you just have to be more careful, Danny. Unless they have absolutely valid facts, they can't pin you for anything. You just have to be more careful where you change and whatnot." she said.

Danny sighed. " Whatever. I'm going to my room." Why did he decide to talk to his sister anyway?

" Oh, and Danny, just so you know, maybe you should think about admitting your feeling to Sam." Jazz said casually. Danny suddenly turned around.

" What feelings-" he began. Jazz cut him off by a snort.

" Oh, please Danny. It's obvious to everyone but yourselves that you like each other. I think it would be good to get it off your chest by just telling her how you feel. You won't have to worry about what it COULD be, and focus on what it CAN be. Trust me, it will be better for your emotional state if you just tell her." She finished, crossing her arms. Danny sighed.

" Whatever Jazz." He said before walking up the stairs to his room.

•.•.•.

" Sammykins!" Sams mother yelled, opening the shades to her room. She groaned and pulled her black pillow over her face. " It's time to wake up and face another bright, beautiful day!" she exclaimed.

" Ugh. Why was I doomed to a family of morning people?" Sam muttered.

" And honey?" Mrs. Manson asked. " I think it's time you wear something more... Sophisticated. Like this!" She held up a bright pink pencil skirt.

" No way!" Sam shot out of bed. " Oh, I'd love to see you try and make me!"

" Well..." her mother began, a victorious smile on her lips.

•.•.•.

" Do you know where Sam is this morning?" Danny asked his friend Tucker. He shrugged.

" No. I haven't seen her. Why? Do you miss the love of your life already?" Tucker asked his friend, gently elbowing him in the ribs.

" Knock it off, Tucker." Danny said, " Class is gonna start in two minutes. What if she's sick?"

" Worried much?" Tucker asked. Danny shot him a look. Suddenly everyone in the classroom gasped. Danny's head shot up to see...

" Sam!?" He asked. There she was. Wearing a pink skirt. What the heck? Did her mother bribe her or something?

" Hey... Sam?" Danny greeted as she came closer. She grumbled something incoherently under her breath.

" What are you wearing pink for, Sam?" Tucked asked as she sat down. She shot him a glare before answering.

" My mother offered to lift the restraining order on Danny, also allowing him in the house again." she responded, with a quick glance at Danny.

" I didn't know there was still a restraining order on Danny." Tucker pointed out. Sam growled.

" She renewed it. She said unless I wear this monstrosity today, she will never allow Danny within sight of me again." She snorted. Tucker wriggled his eyebrows.

" You'd wear pink for Danny? Wow, and here I thought that Sam, the goth, would never be caught dead wearing that color, shows up to school in a neon pink pencil skirt, just so she can be with her crush." Tucker chuckled. Sam elbowed him in the ribs. Hard.

" Wait. Sam has a crush on me?" Danny asked incredulously. Sam blushed fiercely.

" Of course she does." Tucker quickly said, gaining another elbow to the ribs. He doubled over, gasping. Sam glared at him.

" Tucker likes to assume things." Sam muttered darkly, not looking at Danny, so she could hide her blush. Meanwhile Danny's expression dropped. He really wished Tucker was right... Mainly because part of him really wanted to follow through with what Jazz had suggested.

" Well, good morning students!" Mr. Lancers voice suddenly echoed through the classroom. "We will start today's lesson by opening up our books to page 223, section 1b. I will begin by reading the opening paragraph, then we shall take turns reading the play. At the end of the hour, I will give you an assignment to take home. Now I'll begin."

**There. That was a small taste of what the class will look like. And in upcoming chapters, will Danny admit his feelings or not? And what is lurking around the corner... That could potentially expose his secret once and for all, Besides his parents foolish ghost hunting class?**

**And on another note, I'm going on vacation starting Saturday and ending the following Friday. Sorry, but I won't be able to post until probably the 31st of August. But don't despair! Give me inspiration! Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, I just got back from vacation Saturday actually. I swear I was planning on updating then, but The site woulnt let me copy and paste this chapter untill now. I don't think it's ever gonna take that long to update again, unless the same problem occours. I've started schooL., but I honestly don't think it will delay my updates. But I'm starting a new school district, so I'm not exactly comfortable with everything. My life as I knew it was ruined. I had to move to... Escape. *shudder at the thought of black spiky hair. And cupcakes.* Don't ask. Just don't.**

**If I'd just eaten that cupcake... *sigh***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.**

" This particular ghost classifies himself as 'The Ghost Zones Greatest Hunter'. He seems to be just a green blob if ectoplasmic goo that created a metal robotic body for himself. You may recognize him as that ghost that is always after Inviso- bill." Danny's mother pressed a button on the computer to move the slideshow along, and there was a picture of Skulker and Danny fighting. Paulina gasped aloud and pointed to the picture.

" There he is! That's Inviso- bill! He's in love with ME!" she screamed. " He's going to marry me someday!"

" Paulina, dear." Maddie Fenton said, " That ghost is a manifestation of scale 7 ectoplasmic power. He's a post human consciousness. He's evil, just like all the rest of the ghosts. I'm sorry, but he doesn't have feelings."

" But..." Paulina trailer off as she frowned. Her eyebrows crinkled and she looked down. Danny sighed in aggravation. Was this class ever going to end?

Currently he wasn't paying much attention. He already knew everything about the ghosts that his parents were teaching about. He could pass this class with no effort, which was a plus, considering how bad his grades were in his other classes. Unfortunately, it had almost exposed his secret on the first day, it was a threat to how Casper High perceived his ghost half ( And his human half, because of his idiotic parents making a fool of themselves). Although, it was better than English. He shuddered, remembering the awful boredom of listening to Lancer drone on about literature. At least his Dad held excitement when he talked, maybe a little too much, but he was used to it.

Jack Fenton personally loved his new job. He got to blather on about ghosts for hours, teaching young minds how to be prepared if a ghost attacks. And everything in between his inventions and ghostly nature. It was his dream come true. Especially teaching his son Danny. He never seemed to listen to his rantings about ghosts at home. Although, his attention span in school wasn't much better, Jack noted as he saw his son staring vaguely in his girlfriends direction. Jack smiled. Him and that Sam kid were perfect for each other. He knew it was a good idea to engrave that ring.

" And this ghost calls himself 'The Box Ghost'. He seems to be more of an annoyance than an evil threat. Here's a picture of him." Maddie tapped the computer again to change the slide, showing a blue ghost with overalls in a warehouse filled with boxes. " This ghost is known to haunt this very school frequently, although his actual threat level isn't much. He's nothing to be overly worried about." she reassured the class.

" Hey Danny." Tucker whispered to his best friend. Once he caught his attention he gave him a note.

_Are you gonna tell Sam?_ It read. Danny sighed again quietly.

_Tell her what_? He wrote and shoved the note back to Tucker.

_That you like her. Duh._

_She doesn't like me the same way. It would ruin our friendship._

_Dude. You seriously are clueless._

_What do you mean?_

_Why did Sam wear a pink skirt today again?_

_Because she didn't want her mom to put a restraining order on me?_

_Yeah, because she can't bear to not be with you!_

_That's silly. She would do the same thing for you._

_Whatever Danny. But you should tell her._

_Why does everyone keep telling me that!?_

_Maybe it's a sign you should listen._

_But-_

" Danny, sweetie, would you please throw away that note your passing before I come get it and read it to the class?" Danny's mother interrupted their written conversation. Danny blushed before crinkling up the note and tossing it out. " As I was saying," Maddie continued, "This ghost is the most unique. We are not quite sure of his name, but he prefers to be called Inviso- bill-"

" He does not!" Danny suddenly said.

" Young man." Danny's mother scolded him. " Do not interrupt me while I'm teaching. But since you have, what would you like to say?" she asked. Danny shrugged.

" I'm just saying- for about the billionth time- that his name is Danny Phantom. NOT Inviso- bill. Please people. Keep that in mind." Danny said. His mother narrowed her eyes.

" Alright then, Danny Phantom is a unique ghost. He doesn't exactly act completely... Ghostly. He seemed to act and appear more... Human than any ghost we have ever encountered. He is a scientific enigma. But what we know for sure is that he has some well thought out master mind plan to take us over. All ghosts do. This alleged 'teen ghost hero' is nothing but a formation of ectoplasm. Please children keep your distance from this ghost especially. Heres a picture." she showed another slide. Danny looked up and gasped at the sight.

" Oh, no." he muttered as he looked at the picture. There were two white rings around his waist, like he either just changed into Phantom or was about to change back. Luckily he was still completely in ghost mode.

" Hey, whys he got a hula hoop?" Dash asked. Despite the situation, Danny and his friends had to chuckle.

" I don't exactly know." Maddie said, " but I'm sure it's not a hula hoop. It looks like some energy attack or something." She shrugged.

" Wait a minute..." Valerie said, remembering Dani, and how she had the exact same thing when she changed into her human form. But that would mean Phantom would also have a human form... No. It couldn't be. She thought. There was no way that Danny Phantom had a human form. But if he and Danielle were cousins, or clones, whatever, that would mean he would. But then WHO was he? Valerie glanced around the room, but stopped dead when she layed eyes on Danny Fenton. Oh my gosh. Danny Fenton. Danny Phantom. And yesterday, how that boo-merang homed into him... Like he was a ghost... Could that be because he WAS a ghost? Because Danny Fenton was actually Danny Phantom?

•.•.•.

Danny was finally relaxing at lunch. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all. Although Sam was in a mood, but he blamed the pink skirt. She scowled at him while she picked at her salad. He smirked back.

" Danny, wipe that grin off your face before I-" she started.

" What?" Tucker asked, " Kiss it away?" he laughed. Sam shot him a genuine death glare, her cheeks turning red. " I'm sure Danny wouldn't mind, would you?" he wriggled his eyebrows at his best friend. Danny blushed along with Sam and looked away. Tucker sat back and smirked at his two friends. " Ah, two lovebirds." he sighed.

" We are NOT lovebirds!" They both shouted. Tucker just kept his smile.

" Riiiight." he dragged out the word, making it heavy with sarcasm. He pretended to check his watch. " Look at the time! I have to go!" With that he left his two friends in an awkward situation. Perfect.

" So... Uh, pink skirts huh?" Danny asked uncomfortably.

" Oh, give it a rest Danny." she muttered, stabbing at her salad fiercely.

" I umm... Actually, it looks... Nice on you!" he tried to compliment. Sam stopped what she was doing to her food. She raised her head and looked at him.

" What?" she spat. Oh no. Danny did NOT just say pink looked nice on her... " You had better be joking, Fenton. I. Hate. Pink." she leveled a glare at him. He gulped.

" Sorry if I'm interrupting something." Valerie Grays voice suddenly rang out from behind them. Danny jumped. Sam muttered something under her breath and refocused on her salad.

" Hey... Valerie. Something up?" Danny asked nervously.

" Yeah. And that something is you!" she said and leaned towards Danny, as if to get a better look at his face. Sam glared at her.

" What about me?" Danny asked.

" I have my suspicions of you, GHOST BOY." she said before turning on her heel and leaving. Danny swallowed.

" This isn't good." he muttered.

" Did she just call you 'ghost boy'? Please tell me that was my imagination." Sam said, her eyes wide.

" I'm afraid not." Danny told her. " Hold on. Be back in a sec." he got up and followed Valerie. She wasn't hard to find. She sitting on a bench just outside the cafeteria.

" Valerie, look-"

" I know who you are, Fenton. Or should I say... Phantom?" she raised her eyebrows. Danny sighed.

" You're right-"

" I knew it." she muttered.

" But I'm not evil. And... I'm not even like other ghosts. I'm sorry. I'm just really really sorry Valerie." He said, looking down. Valerie sighed.

" I think I should be the one saying sorry." She said eventually. Danny looked up. " I hunted you and blamed you for things that were out of your control. I was biased. I'm sorry, Danny."

" It's okay, you didn't know any better. I just hope that now you'll stop hunting me and maybe start helping?" Danny asked, a small smile on his lips. Valerie returned the smile gratefully.

" Of course."

" Maybe you could join us, you know, Sam and Tucker and I- when we go out ghost hunting?" he suggested.

" Like- like a team?" she asked. Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

" Sorta, I guess. Usually it's just Sam and Tucker with me- and occasionally my sister, but ghost hunting isn't really her thing- but you could help us patrol and stuff." he said.

" Okay. You can count on me to help keep those evil ghosts out of Amity." she said.

" Great!" Danny said. "Oh, and... Uh, please don't tell anyone. This is like the biggest secret ever. I can't have everybody knowing. Just thinking of all the things that could go wrong if I do get revealed... I'd actually prefer not to think about."

" Don't worry. I won't tell a soul, I promise. I'll take this one to the grave." she said. Danny chuckled.

" Thanks."

•.•.•.

" So Valerie's gonna start helping us hunt ghosts from now on?" Sam asked when Danny returned to the table and explained what happened. Tucker had also rejoined the group.

" Pretty much." Danny said.

" Come on now, Sam." Tucker said sympathetically, putting a hand on her shoulder. " No need to get jealous. Valerie isn't trying to steal Danny away from you."

Sam pushed his hand away and glared at him. "Knock it off, I am not jealous." she said sharply.

" Riiight." Tucker said.

" Wait. Why would Sam be jealous?" Danny asked. Tucker chuckled.

" Clueless." Sam muttered so quietly no one could hear, but somehow, Danny heard it. He didn't say anything though. But maybe he thought he should start paying more attention to Sam. It seemed like they were missing something crucial in their relationship, but Danny just didn't know what. But he was determined to find out.

" And Sam." Tucker said, "You don't have to glare at everybody who looks at you."

" Whatever." She grumbled and dropped her gaze to her almost finished salad. " I just hope that Valerie won't let your little secret 'slip'."

" Oh, Sam. She wouldn't do that." Danny said. " She promised me that she'd take it to the grave."

" I'd like to help her along her way there-"

" Sam!" Danny exclaimed. " Please, even if you don't exactly like her, at least try not to make your distaste to prominent. Okay?"

" Fine." she sulked.

" Sam just wants to be the only female in your life." Tucker told Danny.

" What do you mean? I have my mom and my sister-"

" That isn't family..." he said.

" But why does it matter?" he asked. Tucker sighed.

" Because she likes you."

" Can you EVER stop talking!?" Sam interrupted. She stabbed her fork down harshly and gave Tucker another glare. Why couldn't he just leave it alone?

" Hey, I'm just saying the truth-"

" Arg!" Sam got up and stalked off. She officially hated Tucker.

" Dude." Danny said. " You made her leave."

" She's just embarrassed. Now, if you go and admit to her that you also like her then she'd-"

" Is this some scheme to get us together?" Danny asked Tucker suspiciously.

" Maybe." he said. " But it's about whether you want to be together. You do, don't you?"

" Well... Maybe, but... I don't know. What if she rejects me?" Danny asked uncertainly. Tucker gave a long and exasperated sigh.

" Man, you really are clueless. Can't you see that she likes you? Like likes you likes you?" Tucker asked.

" She does? I though you were just joking."

" Jeez, Danny." He shook his head. " Maybe you are hopeless. All I'm going to say is that Sam does like you, as much as you like her- and you should tell her." he got up and walked away from the table again, leaving Danny with his thoughts.

**You think Danny's gonna tell Sam how he feels? And what's going to happen now that Valerie is in on his secret? Will she become as tightly knit as the rest of them, or betray them and tell his secret? Find out next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ahem.**

**Okay. I have a few things to say. First off, I'm really sorry if it seems a little rushed, but I have a humongous plan for this story, and it would take literally forever if I drew it out too much. Heads up: there's going to be some surprising twists to this fic, hence the name. Anyway, I'm also sorry if I didn't go that in depth in Valerie's thoughts, but if you read the small part were I have her up all night thinking, I kinda had it left to your imagination on how she came to her conclusion, and that's in thischapter. Sorry again if the characters seem OOC. I really try to stick with them, every writer is different, but I'll try to keep them more in character. Anyway, I'll update about every week, but I don't really manage schedules that well. If there are any questions, comments, or suggestions, or even constructive criticism, please share them, I want to make this fic more enjoyable for all my readers. But I'm going to keep to my ideas at the same time.**

**Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say this? I don't own Danny Phantom. But if I did, I would continue it, because it's the coolest thing ever.**

**•.•.•.**

It was around two in the morning, the sky above Amity Park was pitch black, with small stars dotting the nighttime sky. It would be peaceful, except for the sounds of a small battle between two ghosts.

" Whelp, your pelt shall adorn my fireplace!" one of the ghosts called. He fired a missile from his suit. The other ghost blasted it out of the air with an ectoplasmic blast.

" That's officially the one hundredth time you said that, Skulker!" the young ghost yelled as he hit Skulker dead in the center of his robotic chest with another ecto blast. Skulker was blasted back into a wall, but quickly regained his senses and launched another missile, this one hitting its target.

" Ahhh!" came the scream of a halfa who was very much in pain.

" Ha, whelp. I've gotcha this time!" Skulker rejoiced as he captured the fallen ghost in a glowing green net, made phase-proof.

" No." Danny grunted. " You don't." he clutched his chest where the missile had hit him, there was green ectoplasm oozing out of the wound. He concentrated until he had frozen the net, making it brittle. He busted out, using ecto blasts to help tear through the strong material. Once free, he kicked Skulker and reached for his thermos.

" No!" Skulker yelled, staring fearfully at the small device. " I will not be trapped by my own prey again!" He leveled another gun at Danny, while he was busy opening the thermos. The gun shot out ropes made with razor wire, also phase-proof, encasing Danny's form. He screamed as the sharp metal tore through his hazmat suit and into his flesh. He tried to struggle but quickly gave up, realizing he would only get more cut up the more he moved. He only had one more option. He sucked in a breath, wincing as the small movement made the razors cut deeper into him. He let out a haunting screech.

" No!" Skulker yelled as he was blown away by the force of Danny's ghostly wail. It destroyed his armor suit, leaving a small green blob floating in midair, his voice turned into a squeak. " Until next time, whelp." The blob vanished. Danny crumpled to the ground, razors cutting mercilessly into his already torn flesh. He groaned. It felt like being wrapped in thorns, only a hundred times worse. After a second, they fell apart and disintegrated, much like all off Skulkers traps do when he leaves. Danny just continued to lay there, bleeding alarming amounts of ectoplasm. Then his cell phone rang. He groaned at the thought of having to move to pick it up, but he did. Before he flipped it open he saw that it was Sam who called.

" Danny?" she asked worriedly.

" Yeah?" He asked softly, his voice worn.

" Are you okay? Your bleeding... A lot." she said. Danny's eyebrows pushed together.

" How do you know?" he asked.

" You're laying on the street." She paused. " Right in front of my house."

Danny managed a chuckle, but winced. " Can you help me?" He asked her.

" Of course. Can you move at all?"

" Yeah." he shifted into a sitting position. He looked up, sure enough he could see Sams house, and she was peeking at him through her curtains.

" Do you think you can fly up here, or do I have to come get you?" she asked.

" I can fly." He closed the phone and focused on flying, ignoring the screams if protest his limbs and chest gave off. He grunted as he pushed himself into the air. He phased through Sams bedroom wall and collapsed on the floor.

" Oh, Danny!" Sam gasped. " Wait here, I've got a first aid kit." she quickly ran off to go get it. Danny layed on the floor, propping himself up on his elbows, waiting for her to return. The good thing was that he healed fast, he could see the shallow wounds start to close; the pain start to fade. He figured that they would all be pink scars by morning, but in the meantime they were still oozing ectoplasm.

" Here," Sam said, coming back into the room. " Can you change back?"

" Sure." Danny breathed as he let the white rings wash over him. He blushed a tomato red when he realized that he only slept in his boxers, leaving him half-naked in front of Sam. She thankfully didn't comment on his lack of clothing.

" Here." She placed gauze over his chest, where his most serious injury was. Her eyes drifted across his arms and legs, noting the sheer amount of blood. She gulped. " You might need to take a shower to wash all this blood away." She said. Danny nodded as Sam helped him to his feet. Thankfully her house was so huge that she had a bathroom attached to her bedroom.

Sam sighed once Danny closed the bathroom door. He was certainly a gruesome sight. She layed back in her bed and closed her eyes and waited for Danny.

She so desperately wished that he liked her the same way she did him. She wished he wasn't so damn clueless. Tucker very literally told him outright how she felt, and he he must have blown it off as Tucker just making jokes or whatever. Would he ever realize that she had feelings for him? Everyone seemed to know that she liked Danny except himself. Why couldn't he see that?

•.•.•.

Valerie Gray couldn't sleep. She thought she had taken the information about Danny's secret pretty well, but now, laying sleeplessly in her bed, her mind roamed.

She had promised Danny that she wouldn't tell anyone his secret. But it was tempting her, she could finally get revenge on him. She could ruin his life the same way him and that ghost dog had ruined hers. Although... That was childish. And she had forgiven him. Mostly. It wouldn't be fair to go back on her word. Plus she didn't want to be seen as untrustful. She tossed over, uncomfortable in her sheets. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, stubbornly refusing to open them again. She wanted sleep. But it continued to evade her. The night dragged on, her thoughts swimming.

•.•.•.

Danny was exhausted by the time he had made it home. He had bandages wrapped around him like a mummy. Stupid razor wire. He shuddered. He never wanted to be caught in the stuff again. He knew that he would have to wear long sleeves to school to avoid suspicion. He didn't really have a valid excuse to explain all the shallow cuts along his body. The good things was that they would be almost completely unnoticeable by the end of the week, unless you were seriously looking for them.

Danny glanced at his alarm clock and groaned. It was already four in the morning. He could get about two hours of sleep before school. He sighed and layed down. As soon as his head hit he pillow he was out.

Danny was woken up by the sound of his alarm clock two hours later. He moaned and rolled over, reaching his fist out blindly to smash whatever was making the noise. When it stopped Danny sat up and rubbed his eyes, glancing down at his now shattered alarm clock. He sighed. There goes another one. Sometimes having super human strength was annoying. He slipped out of bed and began to remove his bloodstained bandages. As he'd figured, they would be unnecessary to wear to school today, the wounds already closed up. He dressed in a long sleeve red shirt and jeans. There. Nobody would know of his late night fight except Sam.

Sam was exceptionally good at treating his wounds. He thought she'd make a good nurse, or it was because of her care for all things living and breathing. Part of the reason why she was an ultra- recyclo vegetarian. He sighed. Sam was so... Perfect.

" Danny! Time for school!" Jazz yelled, banging on his bedroom door. " Unless you were planning on flying, you're going to be late unless you ride with me."

" I'm coming." Danny said as he trudged down the stairs past his sister and out into her car. He couldn't wait until he could drive and have his own car. He was going to be sixteen in just a few weeks.

" Danny, are you all right?" his sister asked with concern. " You seem awfully tired."

" I had to fight Skulker at two in the morning." Danny said, not wanting to elaborate.

" What happened? We're you hurt?" Jazz asked worriedly. Danny sighed.

" A bit."

" How much is 'a bit' exactly?" she asked. Instead of replying, Danny rolled up his sleeve. Jazz gasped aloud, the car swerved a little, but she quickly regained control. "Danny! That's pretty bad."

" It was one of Skulkers new weapons. Razor wire net." Danny grumbled.

" You have got to be careful! You should always have one of us come with you when you go to fight a ghost. Wake me up, I could at least make sure you get home safe. Wait. Did you make it home by yourself?" she questioned.

" No. Yes. Sorta, Sam helped me. She saw me go down." he said.

" And did you tell her?" Jazz inquired. Danny groaned.

" No. I'm too much of a coward." he said. Jazz made a tsk noise.

" You're going to miss your chance." she told him. Danny frowned and looked out the window, they were almost to school.

" I don't know how to tell her." he confessed. " I really don't."

" That's your problem, little brother. All I'm saying is that one way or another- she needs to know how you feel." she patted his arm sympathetically, making him wince as she applied pressure to his wounds.

" Ow."

" Sorry. We're here." she parked the car and turned the engine off. Danny unbuckled his seatbelt.

" Thanks for the ride." he said before getting out and closing the door a little too hard. Jazz winced as the frame rattled. Danny really needed to control his strength. She had found yet another alarm clock smashed to pieces this morning. But, being the kind sister she was, she wound buy a new one for him. Again.

" Hey Sam. You seen Danny anywhere this morning?" Tucker asked one of his best friends. Sam looked up from her locker.

" No, but he got in this fight with Skulker last night. I saw him tangled in this net of sharp wire. I helped bandage him up. I don't know if we should be worried or not. He said he was fine though." she shrugged.

" Maybe he's running a little late." Tucker pulled out his PDA. " So far, Danny's only been late for school for normal reasons two times over our entire high school career. He's been late 104 times due to ghost activity only. He's been late for sleeping in only-"

" I'm here." Danny said as he approached his friends.

" Are you okay?" Sam asked.

" Yeah." Danny rubbed the back of his neck. " I'm fine."

" You say that a lot." she noted. " How are you really?"

" I feel like I've been sliced up by razors. That any better?" he asked sarcastically. Sam sighed and shook her head.

" Sliced up by razors?" Tucker asked. " How sharp was that wire Sam told me about?"

" It was razor wire." Danny said. " It's like barbed wire, but a heck of a lot sharper. They use it to put at the top of prison fences and stuff like that, because it's so sharp."

" Oh. Ouch." Tucker said.

" Yeah, you could say that." Danny muttered as the bell for class rung, leaving students hurrying into their classrooms to avoid being marked tardy.

" Whose up for section 2b of Lancers lesson?" Danny asked his friends as they groaned and made their way to class and took their seats just as the teacher walked in. Mr. Lancer wasted no time.

" Today we will continue our lesson by going to section 2b in our textbooks. Page 233. Again, I shall read the first paragraph. This time I shall chose students who are paying the least attention to read." he glanced at Danny, who had already zoned out before class had hardly begun. Talk about bad attention span. " Ahem. Mr. Fenton, you will be the first to read after me."

Danny's head snapped up. " What!?" he cried. Lancer glared at him for a moment.

" Or you could chose to not read in class and have to spend detention with me." Lancer offered.

" No, no. I'll read." he mumbled, resigned. This class could have gone better. His day was already shaping out to be a bad one.

•.•.•.

" Today we're assigning you're first project. You have to film a ghost somewhere in Amity Park. Considering the amount of ghosts that haunt this town, it shouldn't be that hard." Maddie said to the class. Danny sat back and smirked. This was going to be easy. He could film himself fighting the box ghost and get an A. " The purpose for this project," She continued, " Is so that you can all get a better understanding of ghosts. We will watch all the tapes as a class and discuss the threat level of each."

" This will be easy." Danny muttered to his friends, including Valerie, who opted to sit by them as she was technically part of their ghost hunting team. " All we have to do is film me and get an A."

" To make things easier, you can work in groups with the maximum number being five. Since there are 20 of you, there should be about four or five groups. And you may work alone, if you chose." Mrs. Fenton said.

" Great." Tucker said, " We can all share the same video, it would get a little suspicious if we all had separate videos of the same ghost."

" And because being near ghosts are dangerous, we will give each group their own Fenton Thermos." Jack announced. " I hope you all listened when I demonstrated how to use them."

" We expect all the videos to be in by next week." Maddie added. " But in the meantime, we will be studying about ghosts obsessions and how they feed of emotions." Maddie clicked the computer mouse to present another slideshow. The first picture was of the Box Ghost at the mall, holding a shoebox.

" Obviously, the Box Ghosts obsession is boxes." Jack told the class. " Most likely he had a job that had to do with boxes when he was alive, like maybe a postman!"

" Obsessions are created by something that meant a lot to the ghosts when they were alive, they bring it into their next life as an obsession." Maddie said. Paulina raised her hand. " Yes Paulina?"

" What is Inviso- bills obsession?" She asked. Danny hit his head on his desk. No matter how many time he told people. He was still Inviso- bill. He must be doomed to that ridiculous name.

" We don't exactly know." Danny's mother said, her eyebrows pushing together. "He is such a unique ghost. He doesn't show any sign of obsession and he doesn't seem to feed of emotions. Oh, what I would give to capture and study him."

Danny winced.

" Do you think he doesn't have an obsession because he's a good ghost?" Paulina asked. Maddie laughed.

" There is no such thing." She chortled. " Moving on."

Paulina frowned. " But he is! He must be good! He saved me before! He LOVES me, he said he would marry me and make me his."

Danny snorted.

" Paulina... I don't know what to say." Maddie sighed. "I personally don't think he's good, but there have been lots of talk about it. Maybe he is somehow not all evil."

Danny raised his head in hope that his mother was starting to see good in his ghost half.

" But I would still like to capture and study him." she said.

Danny looked back down and sighed.

•.•.•.

" Okay. When we go on patrol tonight, bring a video camera. Well just film me fighting the box ghost or something. Or something more simple, like me flying." Danny told his friends.

" I think we should just have a small clip of you flying." Valerie said, "We don't want it to be too suspicious. Let's keep it simple."

" I agree." Sam said. Tucker was on his PDA, not exactly paying attention. The sounds of his game echoed in his friends ears. " Tucker?" Sam asked. He looked up.

" Yeah!" he said enthusiastically. Sam sighed.

" Were you even listening?" Valerie asked.

" No, but if you all thing whatever is a great idea, then so be it. I've just gotta finish this level." Tucker said, looking back down at his PDA. His thumbs moving madly as he tried to win whatever game he was playing.

" Alright then. Well keep it simple." Danny said.

**There you go. A good 3,000 words. Anyway I'm about to conduct an expirement. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. I just wish that whoever does ( cough) continues it. And if they don't... I swear when I win the lottery I'll pay all the money to get it back on air. Of course, since I'm probably never going to win the lottery, it won't happen. *sigh***

**Sorry again. I know it's rushed. but you want to get to the good parts faster right? Oh, if only you knew what I have in store...**

•.•.•.

" So..." Danny trailed off awkwardly. He fidgeted with his hands as he walked. Why did Tucker and Valerie have to leave him and Sam alone? After Tucker had teased them about being 'lovebirds'. Sometimes, he thought that his best friend was trying to get him together with his other best friend on purpose.

" So what?" Sam asked.

" Can I come to your place? I want to try to avoid my parents. They've been acting really weird, in the lab every spare minute working on something." he said.

" What's new?" she asked. " And yes, you can. My mothers being nice because I actually wore that skirt."

" kay." Danny said. "Though I'll admit, I was surprised that you wore that." he chucked.

" Shut up. Don't remind me." she muttered, lightly elbowing him.

" Remember how you wore that pink skirt?" Danny asked, smirking. Sam glared at him, elbowing him as hard as she could. "Ouch!" he exclaimed.

" I said don't remind me." she told him.

" Alright. Alright." he said, rubbing his side, " I was only joking."

" Whatever. Come on, let's go." she grabbed his hand and ran to get to her house. Danny happily obliged. They slowed down once they reached the stairs in front of the door. Still unconsciously holding hands they entered the house.

" Hey Sammykins!" Sams mother exclaimed when she saw her daughter. Her expression changed when she her hand intertwined with Danny's. She had given her daughter permission to stay friends with with him. NOT permission to date him. She would have a talk with her daughter later. In the meantime she forced her smile and waved them away. They continued up the stairs and into Sams room. It wasn't until Sam had slammed her door that Danny realized they were still holding hands. He awkwardly let go.

" Um..." he coughed. " What do you want to do?"

" I have to finish that homework Lancer gave us yesterday. I never completed it." Sam said as she dug around in her bag.

" Oh. Homework. Fun." Danny said. Sam smirked.

" Did you ever do yours?" She asked.

" Nope." he said unashamedly. " I was pretty busy fighting for my life. The usual."

" Yep. Fighting ghosts is a completely ordinary excuse for not doing your homework. Oh, what would Lancer say?" she asked sarcastically. Danny chuckled.

" I suppose I should do it now, and make use this available free time." Danny sighed as he dumped his bag out and shifted through the contents on the floor. Sam frowned at his messiness.

" You're cleaning that up once you find your paper." she told him.

" I know. I know." he said, still looking through the papers. Sam pulled out her pencil and a notebook and went to sit on her bed to finish the assignment. She placed the notebook under the paper so she could use it as a hard surface to write on. After scratching away at her answers for a few moments she noticed a pair of eyes on her. She looked up self consciously to see Danny staring at her with a slightly glazed look on his face.

" Uh... Danny? Are you okay?" Sam asked, shifting on her knees. He seemed to snap out of it.

" What! Oh. Yeah, I was just... " He trailed off. He wasn't about to say 'just staring at you because I think you're beautiful'. That might not go over well. But everyone was telling him to admit his feelings sooner rather than later...

" Oh. Weren't you going to work on your homework?" Sam asked. Danny just stated at her. He took a deep breath.

" Sam... There's something important I want to talk to you about." He started. Sam gasped inaudibly. Did that mean what she hoped it meant?

" What is it?" her voice was full of hope. She stared at him expectantly, her heart hammering just as fast as Danny's was.

" Well... I," he paused to take a deep breath. He got up off the floor and walked over to sit on the bed beside her. Sam shifted close to him, so their shoulders touched. "I think you might already know this... But I like you, Sam. Really like you." he looked down, not wanting to see rejection in her eyes. But Sam put her hand under his chin and lifted his face close to hers. Their lips were inches apart. Danny was relieved to not see any form of rejection, but instead, a mutual feeling.

" I do too." Sam whispered. Danny let out a breath.

" Sam, I'm tired of being just your friend. I can't deny or repress my feelings any longer. I want to be with you." Danny told her. Sam smiled. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his, answering any unspoken question. She felt like everything had finally fallen into place just right. Danny felt the same. He cupped her face and put his other arm around her waist, pulling her body close to his.

When they broke apart for air, they smiled at each other. Danny was the first one to break the silence.

" So now that we finally got around to admitting our feelings, didn't we have homework waiting?" he asked with a smirk. Sam laughed.

" Of course. Though I guess now there's no reason to call you clueless anymore." she said. Danny frowned.

" THATS why you guys called me that?" he asked incredulously. Sam laughed again, surprising him when she kissed him again breifly. " Yep."

•.•.•.

The next day Sam woke up to a bright glare. She opened her eyes groggily to see her shades pulled away from her window and her mother frowning at her. She sat up.

" Was there a reason you brought sunlight into my bedroom?" she asked. She glanced at her alarm clock. "And woke me up an hour early?"

" Yes, actually." Sams mother said. She sat on the edge of her daughters bed. " I see that you and that Fenton boy are... Close. I noticed you two holding hands when you walked in yesterday. I see you've made it official, huh?"

Sam frowned. " So?"

" So I think that you should do a little something for me, you know, because I don't approve of your relationship with that... Boy." her mother said calmly. Sam crossed her arms. She didn't like where this was going.

" And just what do I have to do for you?" she asked, sending her mother a glare.

" Well, I found this cute dress on sale at the mall. I was wondering if you would try it on. And maybe were it to school today... And then the Fenton boy can come and go whenever he wants." her mother frowned at the last part. Sam frowned at the first part.

" What color is it?" she asked eventually. Sam mother sighed.

" Now, sweetie... I know your not that into girly colors, but this dress is simply amazing-" her mother began.

" I will not wear a pink dress to school, mom." Sam cut in.

" And it has these fuzzy white sleeves-"

" No!" Sam shouted. " No way. Is there any other option?"

" Well." her mother pursed her lips. " How about this." she got up and left the room. Moments later she returned, with a mostly pink skirt with black lace and a black shirt with pink lace. Sam frowned at the pink.

" Do I have to?" she grimaced.

" Well, no." her mother admitted. " But yes if you want your father and I to continue letting that Fenton boy see you. I don't like him, Samantha. His family is nothing but a bunch if ghost hunting freaks. This is the only way I will allow him under the roof of this house."

Sam stood up. " Fine." she glared at her mother. " I'll wear it today. But don't you think that I will again. This goes against my own individuality. You're just lucky that I think Danny's worth it." with that she yanked the clothes out of her mothers arms and stalked into the bathroom to change, with a deep scowl adorning her pale face. He mother stood upright. She sniffed at her daughters back talk.

" Let me see it on you before you go, Samantha." her mother said, turning for the door. Sam grumbled as she slipped the clothes on. Pink. Ugh. At least there was some black. She would still opt to wear her combat boots.

" It's SAM!" she shouted down to her mother. Once she finished dressing, she made her way into the kitchen, where one of the maids had chopped up a fruit salad for her breakfast.

" Thank you." she told the maid icily, her bad mood radiating off her in waves. She ate her breakfast quickly. After she finished she made her way into the living room where her mother was waiting to see how she looked in her outfit. Sam marched into the room and crossed her arms over her chest.

" Well? How does it look?" she demanded. She wanted nothing more than to get this over with. Her mother pursed her lips.

" It would look better without the boots. Why don't you wear these nice heels today?" her mother produced a matching pink pair of high heels. Sam snorted.

" Pass. Can I leave now? I want to meet Danny early." she said, glancing at the time. Hers mothers eyes narrowed at the mention of Danny.

" Be careful, Sam." her mother warned. " He may be a freak, but he's still a teenaged boy. And I've told you, all that boys want is-"

" Danny isn't like that." Sam defended. " I know him better than that. He would never take advantage of me."

" Sam, I know that's what all girls think, but it isn't exactly true. He's just like everybody else, as soon as he... Gets the urge, he's gonna try to pressure you into doing things you're not ready for. And I want you to look out for that." her mother warned. Sam blushed at what she was implying.

" Mom..." she moaned. " Its Danny. I know him, he would never-"

Her mother held up a hand. " That's what they all say."

" Never make me do anything I don't want. He's got my best interests at heart." she finished. Her mother narrowed her eyes.

" Right." she told her daughter sarcastically. Sam sighed.

" Mother. If it makes you feel better; I'll be careful. I promise." Sam said. Her mother smiled.

" Have a good day, sweetheart!" she said cheerfully. Sam rolled her eyes and walked towards the front door. Her mother could change moods so suddenly. It must have something to do with her hectic lifestyle. She shuddered. Sam vowed she would never be like her mother. She walked slowly down the sidewalk, very aware that she was early. Danny probably would be at school a good twenty minutes after her, thanks to her mother waking her up an hour early. She sighed and trudged on. At least she and Danny were finally together. And that was a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.

•.•.•.

Little did Sam know that Danny was currently busy deep in the ghost zone, where Frostbite had summoned him for 'something gravely important', whatever that was. Danny sighed, knowing how disappointed Sam would be when he didn't show up today of all days. Frostbite had better have a really good reason for this, Danny thought irritably.

He'd been woken up at 5 in the morning by his ghost sense. And there Frostbite was, right in his room, telling him that he must follow for gravely important matters. And so here he was, on his way to the Far Frozen. He grumbled to himself.

" ...better have a good reason for this..." he muttered. Frostbite laughed.

" Oh, don't worry, Great One. For you shall soon thank me." he said. Danny raised and eyebrow. They slowed down once they reached their destination. Danny touched softly down on the snowy ground, not far behind his snow yeti friend. " Come along now, Oh Great One. My people must show you something."

" Show me what exactly?" Danny asked.

" How to make something very special with your ice powers." Frostbite told him. Danny followed him down the icy pathway they were walking. He shrugged in confusion and sighed.

" Alright, then." he said. " But it better be quick. I have to see Sam as soon as possible."

" Ah. I have heard the news about you and Samantha. And that is why you are here, Great One. We will teach you a very traditional trade of our people. It is what one always does when he finds a very special mate." Frostbite said, grinning. Danny gulped.

" And... What would that be?" he asked nervously. Frostbite laughed.

" How to infuse your powers into an ice charm, of course. It's actually quite simple." Frostbite stopped walking when they reached a small hut. They stepped inside, where Danny saw that the walls were decorated with all sorts of weird things, from various bugs frozen in ice to what looked like those crystal ball things that are used to see the future.

" Welcome." Said one of Frostbites people. " I see you have come to learn how to infuse your very own ghost powers into a charm. It will be very handy for your human mate, who is as of now powerless."

" Wait," Danny said, " So you're telling me that I can make a charm out of ice that holds my powers? How does that work?"

Frostbite laughed." Simple. You put the charm on a necklace and the wearer has all the powers you chose to bestow upon it."

" So I can give it to Sam, and she can turn invisible and intangible and stuff?" Danny asked. Frostbite nodded. A grin split Danny's face. "Cool. She might even forgive me for being late today!"

" But we must first teach you how. And this may take a while..." Frostbite muttered. Danny just kept smiling, eager to learn.

•.•.•.

" I can't believe Danny would be late today of all days!" Sam threw her hands up in the air.

" So I gather you two finally made it official?" Valerie gray asked. Sam nodded.

" And now he's not even at school. What if he's reconsidering? What if he doesn't like me? What if-"

" Sam, stop." Valerie cut her off. " You know Danny's probably just got sidetracked by a ghost or whatnot. I'm sure he doesn't mean it. Chill."

" But even then, what if he's in danger!?" Sam asked.

" Come on, Sam. Danny can handle himself." Valerie assured.

Sam scowled. " And my mother just had to make things worse by making me wear this stupid outfit."

" Wait. Why did you wear that outfit?" Tucker said, walking up behind Valerie. Sam glared at him.

" Because my mom forced me too." she said shortly. Tucker raised an eyebrow.

" Forced? What was the bribe?" he asked. Sam sighed.

" Danny, again." Sam muttered. Tucker laughed.

" Ah, lovebirds. You would do anything for each other, wouldn't you?" Tucker asked. Sam punched his shoulder.

" Do you ever stop with the lovebird jokes?" she asked, irritated. Tucker shrugged.

" Hey, maybe it I'll eventually lead you two to admit the feelings you both so vehemently deny." Tucker said. Valerie chuckled.

" Wow, Tucker. You're out of it. Thats already happened." Valerie informed him. Tuckers eyebrows shot up.

" Finally!? You two- wait. Where is Danny?" Tucker realized.

" I don't know!" Sam threw her arms up in the air. " He even promised to be here early. And he's not even here at all!"

" Whoa. Why would he do that?" Tucker asked. Sam shot him a look.

" I said I don't know." Sam replied.

" Well, he could just be out fighting a ghost. You know he's always late anyway. I wouldn't worry to much. You know how hectic his schedule is." Tucker assured her. Sam sighed and crossed her arms.

" We should be getting to class.." Valerie said, glancing at the clock. The bell was about to ring in one minute. The trio reluctantly walked to class with their friend still absent, wondering where he could possibly be.

It wasn't until lunch that Danny showed up, having missed half of his classes. He was soon faced with the problem of his parents, because of his mysterious absence that morning. He luckily got away with only a weeks worth of extra chores. Lancer, on the other hand, gave him a weeks worth of detention for his unexcused absence.

Danny sighed as he made his way down to the cafeteria, where no doubt he would have to listen to Sam scold him for being so late today of all days. But maybe she'd forgive him as soon as he presented her with the necklace that he had spend his morning crafting. It was supposedly infused with his ghost powered, so Sam could use them while wearing the necklace as a form of self defense in case Danny wasn't there to help.

He had made the charm into the shape of a heart, because Sam was technically his girlfriend now. Danny pushed open the cafeteria doors to see Sam, Tucker, and Valerie sitting at a corner table near a window. They didn't notice his approach until he was only a few feet away. Sam turned to him with an accusing look on her face.

" About time." she sniffed. " What did you do? Sleep to long?"

Danny held up his hands. " Sam, I'm sorry I'm so late... But I... Was in the Ghost Zone."

Sam raised her eyebrows. " What were you doing in there?"

" Well, this morning when-" Danny started, only to be broken off by Tucker and his PDA.

" Oh, man! I just reached level one hundred of-"

" Tucker!" Valerie hissed. " Really?"

Tucker looked up from his game. " Sorry. What were you saying, Danny?"

" As I was saying, I woke up this morning to see Frostbite right in my room, telling me that there were something gravely important that I bedded to attend to, so he made me follow him into the Far Frozen to learn this trade that apparently is gravely important to know." Danny explained.

" What trade?" Sam asked. Danny sighed and felt around in his pocket until he found the necklace, he took the shiny heart shaped ice crystal out of his pocket and handed it to her. Sam scrunched her eyes as she stared at it. " What? How to make a necklace? And hey, why is it do cold?"

" Because it's made of ice." Danny mumbled.

" Then shouldn't it melt?" Tucker asked. Danny shrugged.

" No. I don't think so." he said. " Here." he reached out and took the necklace from Sam and fastened it around her neck. He smiled, liking that she was wearing something from him that he made personally. Sam smiled back, deciding that she may as well forgive him.

"The two lovebirds finally together. I need a picture of this." Tucker said, pulling out his PDA and snapping a photo. " Smile!"

" Hey!" Danny protested.

" Were not-" Sam abruptly stopped her sentence and blushed. "Well..."

" Aha! Can't deny it any longer can ya? Looovvvveee birds!" Tucker sang.

" Oh, come on Tucker!" Valerie said, " Give them a break for once will you?"

" Yeah, it's getting quite annoying." Sam remarked. Tucker held up his hands.

" Fine then, Sam. I was only jok- what the heck happened to you!?" Tucker yelled. Sam was currently sinking through the floor, like Danny uses to when he first got his powers.

" Wha- what's happening to me?" shrieked Sam.

Danny quickly grabbed her and pulled her back up. He chuckled nervously. " I forgot to mention, that necklace gives you ghost powers."

" What!?" Sam, Tucker, and Valerie all exclaimed at once.

" How is that possible?" Sam asked. Danny shrugged.

" I don't really know. Frostbite explained to me how to infuse my ghost powers into a necklace, but I don't know what makes it work." He shrugged again. Sam twisted the charm in her fingers, inspecting the small heart shaped ice crystal.

" Well, it's not black. But it's still pretty cool." she said. Danny smiled.

" Glad you like it."

•.•.•.

Later that day, after Danny finished his detention, Sam had surprisingly volunteered to come over and help Danny with his chores.

" Where are your parents?" Sam asked when she entered the house to see no sign of them.

" There're probably down in the lab." Danny responded. "They've been down there every spare minute, you know."

" Why?" Sam asked. Danny just shook his head.

" Beats me. I have to get started on these chores, you know it's not your responsibility to help me, you don't have to." he told her.

" No, if I help, it'll get done faster. With just you working, we could be here for hours." Sam joked.

" Thanks." he said sarcastically.

" So what do we have to do?" Sam asked. Danny pulled a list out of his pocket.

" Vacuum the upstairs, clean the kitchen, and do my laundry." he read off.

" Well." Sam said. " I'll let you handle your filthy laundry, I'll vacuum."

" What about the kitchen?" Danny asked. Suddenly a loud crash was heard from the basement. And an exclamation that they couldn't tell if it was from victory or pain. " I'm going see what my parents broke." Danny muttered as he descended the stairs into the lab. As soon as he made it down the last step a big orange body was blocking his view of whatever was down there.

" Not now, Danny- boy!" Said his father. " There's still work to be done. We alright. The crash you heard was just me dropping the ecto-fuel."

" Ecto- fuel?" Danny asked. Jack laughed.

" We use to power the RV and the Specter Speeder. I dropped it, so well have to make do with regular fuel, which we need much more of... Gah. The prices of gas these days!" his father said. Danny sighed.

" Now run along. Your girlfriends waiting upstairs. And so are your chores. Don't forget your chores! And remember to give Sam that ring I gave you!" he called when Danny stomped up the stairs to go work on his chores.

**Well, my experiment didn't work quite as well as I thought. Same difference. Oh, well. Still, you readers are amazing. You make me want to update faster with all the feedback you give me! I do have a few questions, if I were to make a Peanut butter jelly sandwich and put salt on it, would that be weird? And would it taste good? And why am I even asking you this?**


	6. Chapter 6

.

**Disclaimer: this is getting really old. But I still don't own Danny Phantom. Darn it. But still, I wouldn't mind the fact that I don't own it as much if new episodes were made. Do you ever feel like they only cancel the shows that you like most?**

**•.•.•.**

Danny was staring at the clock. It seemed to tick so slowly. Thankfully, there were only ten minutes left to the day. And then the weekend. Of course, after he finished his last detention and the last of his chores. Then he'd be free to do whatever he wanted. After they got the stupid filming project done, but that would be easy.

Danny absent mindedly doodled the words Sam Fenton on a spare piece of paper. He blushed and ripped the page out, stuffing it away into his backpack so nobody would see it.

Danny let out a gust of air and turned his head to stare out of the window. Wind was blowing through the tips of the trees and birds were seen fluttering in the air. Danny wished time could just go faster so he could fly through the air himself.

After detention, of course. Luckily, detention on Friday was only 35 minutes instead of a full hour. And he'd get his homework done without actually doing it at home.

Suddenly there was shuffling going on, students were beginning to pack up to go home. Danny quickly gathered his papers and shoved them roughly into his backpack. He let out a frustrated curse under his breath when the zipper got jammed halfway. He yanked on it forcefully, but instead of fixing the problem, he yanked the zipper right off of the backpack. Perfect. Now he would probably lose all of his home work. Not that he was complaining. He would use any excuse to get out of doing his homework.

The bell rang and Danny slung his halfway zipped backpack over his shoulder. He was immediately pushed down once he got into the crowded hallway. Dash Baxter had a routine of making sure he was always late for detention.

" Whats the rush, Fenturd?" Dash asked, cracking his knuckles. Danny sighed. He didn't have time for this.

" Come on, Dash. Don't you have anything better to do?" Danny asked, getting up and brushing himself off. Dash noticed his backpack was only zipped halfway, so he decided to take it and dump all of its contents on the floor. Nice.

" There. That's what you get for talking back." Dash told him. Danny just glared at the mess on the floor as Dash sauntered away, laughing. Eventually Danny sighed and reached down to re-organize his papers. Suddenly another pair of hands reached down and touched his. He jerked his head up to see Sam, with a small smile on her face.

" Hey, Danny." she greeted her boyfriend. The glare melted off Danny's face and was replaced with a warm smile. "Ready for your last day if detention?"

Danny groaned. " No."

Sam laughed. " Suck it up. It's only half an hour today. You'll live."

" Will you wait for me?" Danny asked hopefully. "It won't be that long."

Sam grimaced. " With nothing to do, it'll seem longer. How about you come meet me and Tucker at the Nasty Burger once you've served your detention?"

" Oh, alright." he smiled. He finished placing his papers back inside his shabby backpack, then leaned closer to Sam, cupping her cheek as he pressed his lips against hers breifly. But it was at that moment that Lancer came walking out of his classroom to look for Danny.

" To Kill a Mocking Bird, Fenton!" he exclaimed. "You're supposed to be in my classroom, serving a detention, and your out in the hallway making out with your girlfriend! You've earned another ten minutes for this!" he stormed back to his classroom. Danny sighed angrily.

" Well, I guess I'll see you in forty five minutes, Sam." Danny said as he got up and followed Lancer into detention.

" See you." Sam called as she walked the other way. But she happened to notice a stray paper that Danny must have forgot to pick up. It looked like a piece of notebook paper. She turned it over and smiled.

Sam Fenton was written across the page with black ink. She chuckled to herself as she stuffed it in her pocket and made her way to the restaurant where Tucker was already waiting.

" Hey Tucker." she said as she slid in the seat across from him. He looked up from his PDA.

" Wheres Valerie?" he asked. Sams eyebrows pushed together.

" I don't know. Why? Was she supposed to be here?" Sam asked. Tucker shrugged.

" Well she said she'd be bringing a camera for the film, so maybe she's still getting it." Tucker said.

" Oh, that's right!" Sam exclaimed. " I totally forgot about that. But we still have to wait until Danny gets here to do it."

" Doesn't detention get out early on Fridays?" Tucker asked.

" Yeah." Sam confirmed. " But Lancer added an extra ten minutes because Danny was late."

" Why was he late?" Tucker asked. Sam blushed.

" I- I don't know. He dropped all his papers in the floor, so he had to pick them up." Sam said.

" Wow. Lancer gave him a longer detention because he was picking up his stuff? Now he's just looking for excuses." Tucker commented. Sam turned her face away and nodded, agreeing with her friend. She really didn't want to tell him that Lancer thought he was late for 'making out' in the hallways. It was barely even a peck on the lips in reality.

" Hey guys!" they heard Valerie shout. She was holding a black camera in her hand as she walked over to the both they were in.

" Great." Tucker said. " Now all we need is Danny and then were set."

" When does his detention end?" Valerie asked.

" In around..." Sam checked her watch, " Twenty minutes, give or take."

" Oh. Who wants to grab some fries?" Tucker asked, getting up.

" I'll pass." Sam said. "I'm more of a salad person."

" I don't mind any." Valerie called to him as he walked away to go get food. Then she turned to Sam. " So... How have you and Danny been lately?"

Sam shrugged. " Good, I guess. In between ghost fighting, school, detention, homework, and chores, there's not much time to just hang out."

" I hear ya. I can't wait until spring break." Valerie said.

" Me neither." Sam agreed. " At least it's Friday. Tomorrow is going to be a day of relaxation for me."

" Same. I don't know how much more I can take of Lancer though. His lectures drive me insane from boredom." Valerie sighed. "He's such a boring old man."

Sam snickered as Tucker came back with their food. He set the tray down and gave Valerie a serious look.

" Don't let Lancer hear you say that. Not unless you want serious punishment." Tucker told her. Valerie smiled at him.

" Don't worry. I'm not that stupid." she snorted. Sam sighed and reached towards the tray and grabbed a single french fry, nibbling it slowly. Tucker, meanwhile, shoveled them into his mouth like they were going to suddenly grow legs and walk away.

" Jeez. Slow down Tucker." Sam said. " The fries are not going anywhere."

" You never know. They could be ghost contaminated. I have to eat them before they rebel against me." Tucker argued. Sam rolled her eyes.

" Right." she said smartly.

•.•.•.

" Alright. Let's film this thing and get out of here." Danny said, changing into his ghost form. Sam smirked at him and held up the video camera.

" Okay, make it look like your totally oblivious to me filming you." Sam told him.

" Wait!" Tucker exclaimed. " We should pretend to interview him! We might get extra points!"

Valerie smacked his shoulder. " This assignment was about studying ghosts in their natural habitat. Weren't you listening?" she asked. Tucker shrugged.

" Hey, it was just an errant thought." he defended.

" Come on. I just want to get this over with." Danny complained.

" Were waiting on you." Sam told him. Danny sighed and launched into the air. Sam pressed a button on the camera and started recording. She followed him with the camera as he zoomed around in the sky, not appearing to be doing anything at all besides enjoying the feeling of being in the air. Sam suddenly wished she was up there with him, with his arms holding her tight. He looked so carefree, so happy up there. Sam wondered if his parents would still think of him as evil after they saw how innocent he looked up there. She couldn't help but notice how good looking he was, with the wind blowing his white hair around his angled face. She smiled, her face reflecting her emotions.

Those emotions suddenly changed when a net appeared to be shot into the sky, capturing him. Sam gasped in shock.

" Danny!" she yelled. She barely had time to see the frightened look on his face before he plummeted out of the sky.

" Oh, no!" Valerie yelled as she Searched through her backpack for her ghost hunting gear. " Nobody's gonna shoot down my friend and expect me not to do anything about it!"

By that time Sam was full out sprinting. She stopped when she was where she thought she saw Danny go down. She looked around, but all she could see was the Fenton's RV parked along the side of the road. She smacked her forehead and her eyes widened.

" His parents... Finally captured the ghost boy!" she whispered to herself.

**Short chapter. Sorry. I'm just feeling off this week. I promise to make the next one longer. This was just to kinda show that there is gonna be a little excitment going on in the next chapter... Oh, what will Danny's parents do now that they captured the ghost boy? Any ideas?**


	7. Chapter 7

.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. At all. Doesn't that suck?... Well, it does for me. Anyway... Sorry for the late update, but I've been having a serious case of writers block. I still do, but hopefully it will pass. But seriously, I'm really sorry.**

**•.•.•.**

Sam crept closer to the RV, whispereing "No." under her breath. This was impossible. How could his parents capture him? This was... Wrong, in so many ways.

A jolt of fear rocketed through Sams body. She remembered all the threats.

" I will rip you apart molecule by molecule!"

" Jack! Don't you at least want to dissect it first?"

" When I get a hold of that ghost..."

Sams breathing sped up. She needed to rescue Danny. Right now. She looked down at her necklace. Suddenly she had a great idea. There was only one problem.

" How does this thing work!?" Sam muttered, inspecting the ice crystal hanging from her neck. She remembered how it just acted up when she'd first put it on, but she didn't know how to control it. She closed her eyes in concentration. She wanted to become invisible. Invisible. She clenched her fists.

Nothing.

"Arg!" she growled in frustration. "Why didn't Danny show me how this works?"

Her gaze found the RV again. Her eyes narrowed. No matter what, she would get Danny to safety. She wouldn't let his parents dissect him. Okay, that was just plain disturbing.

She crept forward, planning on sneaking into the vehicle somehow. As she approached, she could hear Danny's father.

" Oh, Maddie, we did it! We've finally captured that pesky ghost punk! We should bring him to class! A real live example of a ghost!" Jack said eagerly. Sam pressed her ear against the side of the RV, listening.

" What!? No!" she heard Danny say. " You can't! I've never done anything to you! This is wrong! Let me OUT!"

" Shut your trap, ghost boy." Maddie said sharply. " You've done plenty."

" Please?" Danny begged the ghost hunters.

" Ha! Like you can beg your way out of this!" Jack said," Were gonna keep you locked up until we've studied your behavior, and after we dissect you!"

" Dissect?" Danny gulped. That didn't sound too good. Sams breath hitched. Her fingers curled around the necklace. It startled her when the RV suddenly roared to life. She stepped away from it and onto the sidewalk. The vehicle drove off, leaving Sam standing there, staring after it.

•.•.•.

Danny was far from calm. One moment, he was flying freely in the air, without a care in the world, and the next, he was falling from the sky in a phase proof net.

At first, he thought it was Skulker or another one of his ghostly enemies, so it severely shocked him when he realized that his parents were the culprits. HIS PARENTS!

And then he knew he was screwed. And when his dad mentioned dissecting... It went downhill. They drove the RV down the street, most likely taking Danny home to experiment in the lab. Danny briefly considered telling them his secret, but soon dismissed the idea. It wasn't worth it. Besides, it was still possible that he could escape.

The vehicle bumped along the road, his father driving like a maniac. Even more so due to his excitement at catching the ghost boy.

" Ow." Danny muttered as his head hit the top of the ghost cage his parents locked him it. Unluckily, it didn't have a seatbelt, which meant that Danny was flung in every direction whenever his father turned a sharp corner. This wasn't the best car ride of his life, that was for sure.

" Maybe we should try the new Fenton ghost tranquilizer." Jack boomed excitedly. "And see how long it knocks him out for."

" Or we could study his behavioral patterns first, and then we can start with the painful tests." Maddie inserted. Danny cringed. Why did this happen? What had he ever done to deserve to be captured and experimented on by his own parents? This wasn't fair.

Just then Jack rounded a corner, and Danny's cage flew to the other side of the RV and crashed against the wall forcefully.

" Ugh." Danny muttered as he was tipped sideways. "I'm going to get motion sickness if Dad keeps this up."

Luckily, they had reached the Fenton house, and, after jerking to a rather abrupt stop, throwing Danny's cage across the vehicle, the uncomfortable ride was over.

" Thank god." Danny muttered. " Although being out of this cage would also be nice."

" I'll get the ghost kid, Maddie. You can go prepare the experiments!" Jack thundered, opening the back of the vehicle and sliding Danny's cage out. Danny gulped.

" What experiments?" he asked his father. Jack laughed.

" You'll see soon enough!"

" Great." Danny muttered.

Meanwhile his mother was downstairs prepping the experiment table. She walked over to test out the ghost restraints, clicking the switch and watching to see them glow green. Nothing happened. She tried again with the same results.

" Why on earth are the Fenton ghost ropes not working?" Maddie wondered aloud. This was a problem. Unless she could get them to work, Phantom would just be able to harmlessly phase through them and escape. They couldn't perform the tests she wanted to do if they couldn't tie him down.

Aggravated, she slammed her fist on the table, hoping it would do something. And it did. The ropes were charged with the ectoplasm that made them ghost proof, making them glow a bright green, much like Danny's eyes.

" Yes!" exclaimed Maddie. But, as she watched, a lone screw rolled away on the floor. She bent down and picked it up. It looked like it went to the table... Suddenly with a crash, the experiment table fell to the floor, the ghost ropes snapping in half.

Furiously, she turned to see her husband walking in the lab, ghost in cage. He looked at the mess, and back up to her.

" What happened to my Fenton-" but he was cut off.

" Jack, did you forget to tighten one of the screws on the Fenton experimental table?" Maddie asked, holding up the screw.

" Why... I thought I'd gotten them all." he muttered. Maddie sighed. They could always fix it later. For now, they would just have to keep the ghost kid in the cage.

" I have got to make dinner. Jack, why don't you start on cleaning the lab?" Maddie asked. Jack looked down.

" But cleaning is Danny's job..." he said. And then he perked up. " DANNY!" he called. " Get down here and clean the lab!"

Danny winced in his cage. Suddenly footsteps were heard on the stairs, and Jazz poked her head around the corner.

" Dad! Keep it down. I'm trying to study!" she said, her eyes sweeping the scene before her. She gasped when she saw Danny in the cage.

" Go get your brother, Jazz. He has chores to do!" Jack said. Jazz looked panicked for a moment.

" But dad, he finished his chores, and besides, he's... At Sam's ! He's at Sam's... Spending the night!" Jazz hurriedly made up an excuse for his absence. Jack looked dejected.

" We'll then, I guess I'll just have to clean this myself..." He muttered.

" Wait a minute..." Maddie said. " You said Danny's at Sam's house... For the night?"

" And, And Tucker is there too!" Jazz put in. "There all at Sam's. It's fine mom. Danny is a responsible boy."

" Well, that's fine, I suppose. I'll be making dinner." Maddie said, heading up the stairs after her daughter while Jack stayed down to clean up.

He sighed and plopped the cage on the floor. Danny rubbed his head when it hit the bars.

" Ouch." he muttered.

•.•.•.

"I'm so worried about Danny!" Sam was saying. Sam, Val, and Tucker were currently walking along the sidewalk towards Danny's house, hoping they could rescue him somehow.

" Well, at least we got the video done." Tucker said, holding up the camera. " I'll just have to delete the part where Danny gets captured."

" That doesn't matter, Tucker. All I care about is that Danny is safe. We have to hurry! His parents could already be hurting him!" Sam said.

" Sam's right." Valerie said, " We need to pick up the pace."

" But I can't run!" Tucker protested. Just then Sam's phone rang.

" Oh, who is it now?" Sam exclaimed irritably. She pulled her buzzing phone out of her pocket and checked the caller ID. " Jazz?" She asked as she put the phone to her ear. "What is it? Is Danny there, because he-"

Sam was cut off by a voice on the other end. Neither Tucker or Val knew what Jazz was saying. But it made Sam relax immediately.

" That's good. Just make sure to keep an eye on him. And your parents." Sam said.

" What's she saying?" Tucker asked. Valerie elbowed him to make him shut up.

" You think they'll just let him go?" Sam paused. "BEFORE they experiment on him?" Another pause. " Well, watch out. Don't let them hurt him!"

Sam sighed in relief. " Thanks, bye." She hung up, with a smile on her face.

" Well?" Tucker asked.

" Jazz has got Danny under control. He's fine." She hesitated. " For now."

" Do you think we should still rescue him?" Val asked. Sam shook her head.

" His parents think that he's with us, spending the night. So if they catch us... That would not be good." Sam explained.

" Oh. Well I gotta go edit this video for tomorrow. See ya guys!" Tucker said, heading off.

" I hope Jazz is being careful. I would hate it if Danny got hurt." Sam said.

" Don't worry so much. I'm sure his parents won't actually do anything. They seem like such nice people." Valerie said. Sam sighed.

" Not to ghosts." she told Valerie. " And Danny is just a ghost to them."

•.•.•.

Danny woke up groggy, tired, and aching. He sat up and tried to stretch his arms out, but they collided with metal bars.

" What the heck!?" he muttered. Then he remembered. His parents had captured him. He looked around at his surroundings. He was in the lab. There were no windows, so he couldn't tell if it was day or night.

Danny sighed and leaned his back against the bars of his cage. He wondered if his parents were still buying that story Jazz concocted up to explain his absence. Unless he got out real soon, it would be pretty hard to explain his absence at school.

Bored, Danny started humming a tuneless song. His soft humming seemed louder as it echoed off the dark walls of the lab. Suddenly a light flickered on. Danny blinked many times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. When his eyes started working again, he saw his father as he was sauntering toward Danny's cage.

" Good new, Ghost punk." Jack said to his son, " We are letting you go free."

" What!?" Danny shot up, banging his head on the bars. "Seriously?"

" Well, after we show you to our class today. If you cooperate, and answer all questions, and not destroy anything, and prove your good, then well let you go." Jack told him. Danny's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

" You're showing me to your class like I'm an animal, interrogating me like a criminal, and then letting me go after I prove my innocence?" Danny asked.

" Yep. Pretty much covers it. You're going to make an excellent real live example of a ghost."

**So, again, sorry for the tremendously late update, but I know you don't want to hear excuses. But anyway, I will make an effort to update the next chapter soon. **


	8. Chapter 8

.

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Danny Phantom. And I don't own Danny _Fenton_ either. Nothing belongs to me... Dang it. I just wish there were more episodes. **

•.•.•.

" Wait. WHAT!?" Sam yelled at Danny's sister. Jazz shrunk back, holding her books higher up to her chest. The two girls were currently having an argument in the corner of the hallway at Casper high.

" I tried to convince them otherwise, but my parents thought it was such a wonderful idea. They wouldn't have their minds changed for anything." Jazz defended.

" But Danny! What will they think when he's not in school today!? What if they find out his secret?" Sam asked.

" Sam, I can't do anything about it. But I did tell them that Danny was sick and staying home today. Since they leave so early, they never even knew he never made it home. It's covered, trust me." she said. Sam sighed, a gust of frustration blowing out of her lungs.

" Fine. They said they would let him go after today though, right?" Sam asked. Jazz nodded.

" But he has to cooperate."

" Who has to cooperate?" Tucker asked, walking up to the two girls who were talking. Jazz turned to him.

" Our parents brought Danny in today for 'show and tell.' " Jazz explained, a bitter note in her voice.

" Oh, no!" Tucker gasped. " This can't be good."

" They let him go after he answers any question that they or a student asks, and if he can prove he's good." Jazz said.

" Wait, does this mean that we won't have to turn in our videos today?" Tucker asked. Jazz shrugged.

" Don't know, but they'll probably postpone that until tomorrow."

" Oh, okay then." Tucker said. He pulled out his PDA. Jazz sighed and turned to Sam.

" Does he ever go without that thing?" She asked. Sam looked over at her friend, who was tapping the small device with a stylus. She shook her head.

" It's like an extra limb. I don't think he could function without it." Sam said. Tucker looked up.

" Darn right. I need my baby!" He said, holding it to his face. "I don't think I could live without the love of my life."

" Well... I have to get to class." Jazz said, walking away. Sam waved her off.

" Tucker, you're calling a piece of metal the love of your life. You need to get out more." Sam said, with a small hint of concern in her voice. Tucker just snorted.

" You've never known the love of technology. You don't know what your missing out on." Tucker argued. Sam rolled her eyes.

" You've never known the love of another person, you don't know what your missing out on." Sam retorted. Suddenly Tuckers eyes shot up.

" So you're saying you love Danny?" he asked incredulously.

" I... Of course- wait, no- wait... I... He, um..." she gulped. How did she get in this situation? Suddenly the question struck her. Did she love Danny? Suddenly she felt like her mouth was dry. She couldn't speak anymore. She always knew she liked Danny... A lot. But she would never assume that some silly crush was LOVE. But was Danny just some crush? She knew he was more than that, but didn't know how much more.

" So you do, or you don't?" Tucker pressed. Sam glared at him.

" I don't know." She said.

" Are you sure about your answer? The first two words were 'I don't'."

" Maybe I do?" she offered.

" Just say yes or no." Tucker said.

" Ugh. Can we go to class now?" Sam asked, glancing at the clock. The bell was due to ring any second.

" Ah ah ah. No changing the subject. This is vitally important." Tucker stated.

" Nothing is as vitally important as your grades!" Mr. Lancer said, walking up behind the young teens. "I expect you two to be heading on to class. You barely have seconds left before I mark you tardy."

" We were just on our way." Sam said with relief. At least she didn't have to answer to Tucker anymore. But she knew he would eventually ask again. She grabbed Tucker by his wrist and dragged him through the classroom door just as the bell rang. Lancer stalked behind them.

" I'd suggest getting seated quickly." He told them. They hurried to their seats.

" Now class. I must first make a very important announcement. There is a highly dangerous ecto entity in this school, but fear not young ones, because he is caged with no chance of escape. You shall be studying him in your ghost safety class." Lancer said.

" Him?" Paulina asked. " What's his name?"

" It's none other than the widely discussed ghost boy." Lancer told her. Paulina squeaked a cry of elation.

" I get to see the ghost boy today! I bet today will be the day he will ask me to marry him!" she exclaimed. Sam grimaced.

" Whoa, I wonder if he wants to be popular. We could be like, friends. He's like the coolest super hero ever!" Dash said.

" And then he will carry me into the sunset..." Paulina was saying.

" And then he can join the football team, we would win every single time with his powers!" Dash said. The students began talking in loud voices, discussing their favorite hero.

" Enough!" Cried Mr. Lancer. " He is not here to do anything but stay locked in a cage as an example to study. And no further comments will be accepted. If you have anything to say about it, wait until you get into that class. But now we shall be reading Shakespeare. Open your books."

•.•.•.

" Danny?" Sam asked quietly, "Are you in here?" She quietly tiptoed her way across the dark classroom. It was currently lunchtime, but she decided to sneak away and try to find Danny. She heard a soft voice come from the other end of the room.

" Sam?"

" Danny!" Sam whispered excitedly. She ran to the sound of his voice, and found him in a cage at the back of the room. She knelt down next to him, slipping her hands through the bars. Danny held onto them like a lifeline.

" I missed you." he told her. " It feels so alone being locked in a cage."

" Now you know how all the animals at the zoo feel." she told him. He chuckled.

" I guess I do."

" But Jazz told me you're getting out." she stated.

" I think so. My parents are willing to let me leave if I somehow prove I'm no threat." he said.

" Or, if you can't, I'll still find a way for you to escape."

" I wouldn't worry, Sam. I'll be fine." Danny assured her.

" But if you don't escape soon, they could figure out your secret. You can't pretend to be sick forever." Sam told him. Danny sighed.

" I know Sam. I know. But I'm almost certain that I will get out before they learn my secret." he said confidently.

" You can never be too careful. Besides, on the off chance that they do, what do you think they will do? They don't exactly like you in your ghost form as of right now."

" Sam, no matter what, I'm sure they'll accept me. I'm just... Not ready for them to know quite yet. I need more time to think things over." Danny said.

" I understand Danny. But you might want to think about getting on their good side before you go telling them: 'Hey mom and dad? You know that ghost kid that you hate so much? Well, the funny thing is, that's me!'"

Danny laughed. " Yeah, that might not go over well."

" Let's just hope that you get out of here before they have to learn the hard way." She hesataited, then added, " Especailly so close to your birthday." Sam said. Danny nodded.

" Good idea."

" Alright then. I have to go. I can't have your parents catch me in here talking to the ghost boy." Sam said as she stood up. " I guess I'll see you in class, then."

" See you soon." Danny said, a small smile on his lips. Sam started to walk away. "Wait!" Danny called. Sam turned slightly.

" Yes Danny?"

Danny hesitated, unsure of something. " Kiss me?" he asked eventually. Sam's eyes narrowed, she wasn't sure that was what he was originally going to say. But she shrugged it off and walked back over to Danny. She pressed her lips against Danny's through the metal bars. Her hands automatically went up to twine in his hair, only to be stopped by the bars. Instead, Danny reached his hand up so they could intertwine their fingers through them.

Sam reluctantly pulled back after a few seconds. She knew that the bell was bound to ring any moment. She had to get out while she could.

" Danny..." she breathed. " I really have to go."

He nodded. " Bye." he whispered. But Sam sat there for a moment before getting off the ground. She didn't want to leave Danny all alone in a cage in a dark classroom. He must be very lonely. And hungry. Sam wondered when the last time he'd eaten was. She should have saved some of her lunch. But then again, she doubted he would want to eat anything ultra-recyclo vegetarian. Like her tofu sandwiches.

" I'll see you." Sam called as she exited the room. After she left, and the door swung shut again, leaving Danny in total darkness, he whispered:

" I love you."

Even though Sam couldn't hear.

•.•.•.

Sam, Tucker, and Valerie entered class at the same time. They immediately glanced at Danny, who was still in his cage, except he was surrounded by all of his admirers. Such as Paulina, who was confessing her 'love' to Danny, much to Sam's distaste.

" Oh, Inviso-bill! I've waited so long to see you! You can't imagine how much I missed you! Someone can only go so long without seeing the love of their life." Paulina swooned. Danny had one of those expression that people wore when they realize that someone is crazy, but go along with it anyway, just to please them.

" Hey Phantom!" Dash said, actually getting his name right. " You could, like, totally hang out with all the A list kids. You know... Once you get out of this cage thingy. I've already reserved a spot for you. We could totally hang out when you have free time, because you're like the coolest super hero ever."

" Um... Thank you?" Danny said. " But I'm always pretty busy..."

" And once you get set free, you can take me out on a date! And then we can officially be the hottest couple ever!" Paulina chirped, not noticing the grimace that spread across Danny's face. Sam glared at the popular girl murderously. Tucker put a hand on her shoulder, steering her towards her desk so she wouldn't rip out Paulina's hair.

" Easy Sam. No need to get jealous over someone like Paulina." Tucker said. Sam turned to him with the glare still on her features.

" I'm not jealous." she spat. " I'm annoyed. And angry. And Paulina is such a stuck up, shallow-"

" Sam. I get it." Tucker interrupted.

" Bitch." Sam finished, directing her glare back to Paulina, who was still talking to Danny.

" You can see me in my new dress, its pink, with an open back and sparkly trim!" Paulina squeaked. Sam snorted in disgust. Sparkly trim. Ugh. She shuddered.

" When does class start? I'm tired of hearing everyone." Sam muttered. Valerie glanced at the clock.

" Two more minutes." Valerie replied. Sam groaned and plopped her head on her desk, trying to drown out he noise.

Danny wished he could just cover his ears and block out the voices directed at him, too. Especially Paulina. Like he'd ever want to go out with her, after seeing how shallow she really was, he abandoned his crush on her, and plus, that's when Sam really started catching his eye. He spent a long glance at his girlfriend. Her head was down on her desk. He wondered if she didn't feel well. He suddenly wanted to call out to her, to comfort her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. He wanted to kiss her and tell her the words he was dying for hear to hear. He wanted out of this damn cage. Soon.

" Phantom? Phantom!" Paulina asked. Danny looked at her, she was frowning. " Why are you looking at that goth girl? She's so ugly compared to me. You shouldn't be looking at other women anyway. Not when you're in love with me."

Danny fixated his gaze on Paulina with annoyance. How dare she call Sam ugly? Sam was more beautiful than she could ever be. And as if he was in love with her. The only person that could ever truly love Paulina had to be just as shallow as her. And Danny didn't consider himself in that category.

" I'm sorry, what?" Danny asked Paulina. She sighed and flipped her long dark hair back, trying to appear more attractive. Danny thought it looked messy.

" Oh, Phantom... That is your name right? Danny Phantom?" Paulina asked.

" Uh, yeah. That's it. And please don't call me Inviso- Bill? Please?" Danny begged. Paulina laughed.

" Of course I won't! Anything for you, baby." Paulina smiled. Danny resisted the urge to gag. He noticed Sam peeking out at him out of the corner of her eye. Danny winked at her while Paulina was looking away for a moment. Sam gave a small smirk and turned away, leaving Danny with a stupid grin on his face. Paulina looked back, and obviously thought he was smiling at her.

" I knew it! You adore me too!" Paulina coed. Danny's eyes flashed up to meet hers.

" What? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something else." He said. Paulina's lip curled down.

" But you do love me, right?" Paulina asked in a fake trembling voice. Luckily, Danny could spare her his utter rejection for another day, because just then his parents came bustling in the room.

" Seats! Go to your seats everyone!" Maddie called. With one last pouting look at Danny, Paulina made her way to her desk and sat down. Danny breathed a sigh of relief.

" Now, as I'm sure you know, we have a live example of a ghost in our classroom today. We shall use it as a resource for our learning experience." Maddie continued. Danny couldn't help the stab of hurt that washed through him. His own mother called him an 'it'. If only she knew the truth about his dual identities...

" Now," Jack Fenton said, " You may ask the ghost any questions, but please raise your hand. This should be orderly business."

Immediately all hands shot up. Danny sighed and leaned back in his cage.

" Let's start with the first row." Maddie said. Danny grimaced. It was Paulina.

" Phantom," She addressed Danny, " Do ghosts fall in love?"

Danny watched as his mother narrowed her eyes, Paulina leaned forward in her seat, and Sam leaned back and crossed her arms. Danny quickly met Paulina's eyes, before looking into Sam's .

" Yes," He said, staring at Sam, " They can."

" I thought ghosts don't have feelings." Mrs. Fenton said. Danny looked up at his mother.

" Are you a ghost?" He asked her. She seemed baffled.

" No. Why would you ask such a question?"

" Because I am. And I have feelings. Just like anybody else." Danny said. Maddie looked in her sons eyes for a moment, seeing the utter honesty in them. She couldn't help but believe him. She cleared her throat.

" Alright moving on. Kwan, you're next." Maddie said.

" Why do you bother protecting the town?" he asked. Danny sighed. He knew that somebody would ask this one.

" Because protecting the defenseless humans is the right thing to do. It's much more satisfying to know your at least trying to do the right thing." he said. Then, after a few seconds he noticed everyone's frozen facial expressions. Suddenly his face paled. That was the exact same thing Danny FENTON had told them when they were giving their opinion on Phantom in Lancers class. Maybe he'd just ruined everything. Wow. He couldn't believe that they were actually smart enough to remember that though. But then a cold blue mist escaped his mouth. He glanced around, and saw Clockwork, with his time staff. He had frozen time. Suddenly Danny felt like busting out laughing. They had never even heard what he'd said. They were frozen in time.

" Daniel." Clockwork said. " This is no time to be funny. The ghost zone is in mortal danger."

" What? What do you mean mortal danger?" Danny asked. Clockwork sighed.

" Its complicated. But it has to do with you reaching your sixteenth birthday, which I may add, is not too far away."

" What does my birthday have to do with anything?" Danny asked the ghost. Clockwork stared at him, expressionless.

" It's you, Daniel, you are the bridge to both the human world and the ghost zone." Clockwork told him. "You must start playing your role when you reach a certain age."

Danny gulped. " What role?"

" It's very complicated, you see. After you defeated Pariah Dark, the whole time stream had changed. In fact, you were never meant to live. That suit protected you from death. Pariah was meant to rule the ghost zone once more, but you stopped him. So the question is: who is going to rule now?" Clockwork asked.

" Um... Isn't the ghost zone just fine without a king?" Danny asked. Clockwork shook his head.

" It was. But now, as you can see, there are humans that pose a great threat to us. Humans that believe we are all evil. In the time stream which you did not deafeat Pariah, he gained control over both the human world and the ghost zone, stopping all wars that would have come. But now, there is no one to keep the humans in check. No one to save the ghosts from the humans." Clockwork paused. " Execpt you Danny."

" You're making the humans seem like the bad guys." Danny pointed out.

" They are not bad, just under a misunderstanding. If they continue to believe all ghosts are evil, they will try to destroy us. All of us. And I can't let that happen." Clockwork said grimly.

" So what are you going to do? Kill all the humans?" Danny asked, crossing his arms.

" I'm not going to do anything." Clockwork said.

" Then what-"

" You are, Danny. You are going to take Pariah's place as king. You are going to unite both the human world and ghost zone. You are the perfect and only one to do it. You are half ghost. Half human." Clockwork told him.

" Wait, wait, wait." Danny paused. " WHAT?!"

Clockwork smirked at the young boy. " Yes. You heard me correctly. You must take the thrown and bring peace between both worlds."

" But how? I'm just a kid. I can't do it. I'm sorry, but I can't-"

" Then the humans will destroy the ghost zone, bringing their own world along with it. You have two choices Danny. Utter annihilation, or peace."

" Isn't there an alternative option?" Danny asked in a small voice.

" No. You have two weeks to decide. When you do, come see me. TIME IN!" Clockwork said, as he dissapeared. Danny shook his head a few times. But that didn't help clear it in the least. So he just sat there, in his cage, staring at the faces of his classmates. Eventually Kwan cleared his throat.

" Um... Phantom... Are you going to answer my question?" he asked. Danny snapped out of it.

" Oh! What? Right. Okay. What was it again?" he asked.

" Why do you bother protecting the town?"

" Because... It's the right thing to do. Besides, I can't ignore a cry for help. I can't let the ghosts infest this town."

" Why not? Why do you care?" Danny's mother asked.

" Because a town overrun by ghosts isn't pretty, let's leave it at that." Danny said. Mrs. Fenton pursed her lips.

" Aren't you just like them?" She asked. " Taking over our town?"

" I'm not attempting world domination, am I?" Danny asked.

" I don't know. You ARE a ghost. As far as I'm concerned, you could be tricking us all. Because if I know anything, it's that all ghosts are evil ectoplasmic scum. They should all be destroyed. They are unsafe, hazardous, despicable, rotten, low down, good for nothing scum bags." Maddie said. Danny winced.

" Um... Thanks." Danny told his mother sarcastically. " I'm honored that you think so highly of me."

" I don't trust you." she spat.

" You have to get the idea that all ghosts are evil out of your head. I'm not evil. Sure, there are some evil ghosts, but there are some evil humans too. There's good and bad in every kind." Danny said. Maddie scrunched up her eyebrows.

" Is that so? Then tell me, ghost, what are you trying to accomplish by saving people? Glory? Fame? Is your hero act just a scheme to get us to trust you, just so you can crush us underfoot once you have gained that?" Maddie asked. Danny held up his hands.

" Whoa. For one, I'm not smart enough to go devising an evil master plan, two, I save people because I CAN. It feels good to do the right thing."

" Hmmm..." Maddie thought. " You're right about one thing. You're probably not smart enough to devise an evil master plan."

Danny just chuckled. " You should see my grades."

Suddenly Maddie tensed. " Grades? You only get grades when you go to school?"

" Aw... Crap." Danny winced. " I mean... The grades I got... Before... I died!"

" Oh."

" Anyway... Can we move on?" Danny asked, trying to change the subject.

" Alright... Anyone else want to ask a question?" Maddie asked the class.

" Oh! Can I ask another?" Paulina asked. Maddie sighed.

" I guess so."

Paulina squealed with excitement before addressing Danny. "Ghost Boy, are you in love with anyone?"

•.•.•.

**Wow. That chapter just came spilling out of my head. But I have an important question. Did you like it?**


	9. Chapter 9

.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

**So... I don't really have anything to say. But here is the next chapter!**

•.•.•.

_"Alright... Anyone else want to ask a question?" Maddie asked the class._

_" Oh! Can I ask another?" Paulina asked. Maddie sighed._

_" I guess so."_

_Paulina squealed with excitement before addressing Danny. "Ghost Boy, are you in love with anyone?"_

•.•.•.

Danny gulped. If he said yes, then Paulina would think he was in love with her. But then again, Sam would know the truth. He decided to go with the truth. He could always clear things up.

" Um... Yes, actually." He said, looking at Sam for her reaction. A smile was tugging at her lips. He caught her eyes for a second and she winked. He smiled back. But of course, Paulina thought he was referring to her.

" Oh, I knew it! You are in love with me! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" she gushed. Danny sighed. The smile melted off his face. He considered the option of totally turning her down in front of the class so he could put her in her place. But he wasn't that mean. Still, he had to think of a way to let her down easy.

" Um... Paulina?" Danny asked. She looked up.

" Yes, my amazingly famous and hot Ghost Boy?" she said. " I just know we were meant for each other. We would look so cute together!"

" I didn't mean you."

The class gasped. Paulina dramatically held her hands over her heart and choked out the words: " What? I don't understand."

" I never said that it was you I was in love with." Danny said. He wondered if he was to outright.

" But... Then who?" Paulina asked, fake heartbreak apparent in her voice.

" The most amazing girl on the planet." Danny sighed. Paulina lifted her head.

" So you do mean me!" she exclaimed. Danny hit his forehead with his palm. Of course Paulina would think that she's the most amazing girl on the planet. She was just that shallow.

" No. I mean... Someone else... You're not the one. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you're not." Danny told her truthfully. Paulina then glared at Danny.

" How dare you! How dare you fall for other women! How dare you trample on my heart!" Then she broke out in forced sobs. Sam rolled her eyes. What a drama queen.

" I'm sorry, Paulina." Danny told her.

" How could you!?" She sobbed, " How could you! I thought you loved me! I thought you wanted me!"

" Well, I didn't-" Danny started.

" Of course not! You're nothing but a deceiving ghost!" Paulina cried. " You tricked me into thinking that you loved me!"

Danny winced. " Look, Paulina-"

" No!" she screeched. " I don't want to hear anymore of your lies!"

Danny sighed in frustration. He glanced at his friends, who also looked like they wanted to punch Paulina in the face. She was such a-

" Do you know what, Paulina?" Sam asked suddenly, having enough of the popular girl. Paulina looked at Sam, shocked that such a geek would talk to her. " Can you give it a break? We all know that you have a sick obsession with him," Sam gestured to Danny, " But please, can you stop being so dramatic? I'm tired of hearing you whine."

" Excuse me!?" Paulina gasped. " Are you talking to me, geek?"

Sam glared at her. " Did you just realize that?"

" Why are you talking to me, you goth freak?" Paulina said, looking down at her nails.

" Because I'm telling you to cut your little drama queen act out."

" Drama queen? My heart was just broken into a million little pieces! What did you expect? For me to shrug it off?" Paulina asked. Sam snorted.

" Yes, that would be an acceptable reaction."

" Ugh!" Paulina whined. " My boyfriend just admitted to me that he loved someone else. Cut me some slack."

" Boyfriend!?" Sam questioned. " He was never your boyfriend!"

" Yes." Paulina sniffed. " He was. He used to love me!"

" Um." Danny shifted in his cage. " Sorry to interrupt, but I was never your boyfriend, Paulina. I never loved you."

" But-" she started.

" Get over yourself, Paulina." Sam told her. Danny chuckled. Paulina swiveled around to glare at him.

" Are you laughing at me?" she asked. Danny held his hands up.

" Just let it go, Paulina. Please." Danny urged.

" I can't!" she wailed. " You broke my heart and I can't let it go!" she broke down in fake sobs again. Star put a hand over her shoulder, comforting her friend.

" How could I have broken your heart?" Danny demanded.

"'Because..." she trailed off, looking for an excuse to justify her 'broken heart'.

" Because now you realize that you will never be miss perfect who's dating a superhero?" Sam asked. Paulina glared at her.

" I deserve to." Paulina said. Sam rolled her eyes.

" Right. Like you also deserve to pushed in a puddle of mud. It would be an improvement to your looks."

" At least I'm not ugly, like you." Paulina told Sam.

" At least I'm not pathetic, like you." Sam shot back.

" You little gothic Bitch!" Paulina shouted.

" That's enough!" Maddie Fenton cried. " There will be no more fighting! You." She pointed at Danny. He stiffened.

" Yes, Mo- I mean-" he hit his forehead. " Maddie."

" You will be quiet for the rest of the hour. You've caused enough trouble." she said sternly.

" Yes ma'am." Danny muttered, wondering why it wasn't Paulina who was blamed for the trouble.

" And please class, let's be respectful of our peers. Especially you, Paulina and Sam." Maddie narrowed her eyes at the two girls. Sam shrugged. Paulina glared at Sam for another moment before turning her nose upward.

" Now, we shall study basic ghost powers." Maddie said as she clapped her hands together in teacher fashion.

•.•.•.

Danny's mind was chaos. After his little chat with Clockwork, he had not been able to form any coherent thoughts. His brain refused to organize itself, leaving him in a fragile state of mind. Now, as the final bell rang , leaving him completely alone with his parents, he took a shaky breath to try to calm himself. They promised to let him out. They would let him out. He took another breath, exhaling slowly.

" Phantom." Maddie said at last. He looked up at his mother, who was glaring sternly. He straitened in his cage.

" Yes?" he asked. " Are you going to let me out?"

" Let you out!?" Jack Fenton boomed. " We still don't know whether your evil or not."

" How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not evil?" Danny asked.

" We don't exactly trust you, ghost." Maddie said. Danny sighed in frustration.

" What are you going to do with me then?" he asked. Maddie's shoulders then sagged and she stared at him with an odd expression on her face. Danny arched an eyebrow.

" We are going to set you free." she said. Both of Danny's eyebrows then shot up.

" Seriously!?" he asked. Both his parents nodded. Maddie came forward with a key, unlocking the cage. The metal door swung open, freedom right in front of him. He didn't hesitate to leap out of that prison cell.

" Now don't go terrorizing the town." Maddie suggested. Because we will be keeping track of you." And with a swift movement, she fastened a bracelet on his wrist and locked it. Danny tugged at it.

" What's this?" he asked. Jack Fenton smirked.

" It's the Fenton Ghost Tracker!" he announced. Danny groaned. A tracker!?

" Why... Are you making me wear this?" he asked.

" So we know where you are every second of the day!" Maddie said. " If only we could get one of those on our son..." she muttered. Danny gulped. This wasn't good. Now they would be wondering why he was exactly where Danny Fenton was every second of the day. It wouldn't take long for them to get suspicious. If he wasn't careful, they could put the pieces together and figure out his secret. He tugged at it again.

" Can you take it off? It's really uncomfortable." Danny said. Jack laughed.

" Of course not! We have to be able to hunt you down easily if you do turn out to be evil after all." He said.

" Ugh. I'm not evil... For the last time." Danny muttered.

" Hmm..." his mother mused, " But again, we don't trust you. So this bracelet is necessary for now."

" Okay so all I have to do is wear this bracelet, and I can leave right now?" Danny asked.

" Yep. But remember, we'll know exactly where you are." Maddie said. Danny sighed, turning invisible and flying out of the school. Great. This stupid tracking device...

He would have to hide it from his parents when they saw him as Fenton too. Maybe he would have to wear long sleeves all the time. Either way, it really was uncomfortable. He uselessly pulled at the inferior device again, muttering angrily to himself about stupid parents. He thankfully made it home before they did and buried himself in his sheets. He hadn't slept in a nice warm bed for ages. That cage seriously wasn't good on his back. As soon as his head hit his pillow, he was out.

•.•.•.

Sam couldn't help being furious as she walked home. She was mad about Paulina and her stupid drama queen acts, she was mad about Danny's stupid parents locking him in that cage. She was even mad with Tucker, as his stupid PDA made stupid noises as he played some stupid game. She sighed in frustration.

" Tucker will you knock that off?" Sam asked. He looked up.

" Knock what off? I'm not doing anything. You just need to chill, Sam." he said.

" Ugh! Then I just need to be left alone." Sam muttered as she stalked off.

She walked the rest of the way home by herself, her mind reeling with the previous events. She wondered if Danny's parents had let him out or not. Sam wondered this as she entered her huge house and made her way up the gigantic staircase and into her bedroom. Bored, she decided to do her homework for Lancers class. She turned on her music and began to work, all sounds drowned out by the heavy rock music blaring through the speakers.

•.•.•.

Danny stretched out on his bed and yawned, glancing at the clock, he'd been sleeping for four hours. He really needed to get up and move around. He walked down stairs and saw his parents leaning over some monitor with confused expressions.

" Hey mom. Hey dad. What's up?" Danny asked.

" We can't figure it out, Danny." Jack said. " We put this tracking device on Phantom."

Danny stopped on his tracks. They must think Phantom was overshadowing him or something.

" And now, it seems that he has totally disappeared of the radar. Like he just... Vanished. It's so strange." Maddie said. Danny thought for a minute. That must be because he wasn't in his ghost form. The device must not work with humans. He smiled. There goes his problems. For the most part. He still had to conceal it from his parents. He noticed it was in plain view now, and quickly put his hands behind his back.

" I... Uh... I'm going to go see Sam." Danny said as he opened the front door. " See you guys later."

He made sure not to go ghost and instead walked to Sam's house, not wanting his parents to get any more suspicious. If Phantom suddenly appeared on tracker whenever he left the house...

It took longer to walk then it would flying, but it gave Danny time to think. He knew what the right choice was, but it wasn't the easiest by far. How could he rule the ghost zone as king? He was just a kid. He couldn't do it... Could he? It would be difficult... But no. He couldn't. He didn't even have the time. He would practically have to abandon his human life... Abandon Sam.

He wondered if he should tell Sam. He should. She would help him figure out this mess, he was sure. She always knew what to do in tough situations. She would help him figure this out. He walked up the few stairs to her mansion, knocking on the door. There was a moment where shuffling was heard on the inside. Then the door opened. Danny gulped. It was Sam's mother.

" Um... Hi. Is Sam here?" Danny asked. Mrs. Manson sniffed in disdain.

" She's upstairs." she said shortly.

" Okay... Can I go see her?" Danny asked awkwardly. Pamela Manson stared down at him with narrowed eyes.

" You're not a good influence on her. Your disrupting her gentle transition into adulthood by spreading your freakiness into her life. You're no good for my daughter; your a menace to her-"

" Mother!" Sam yelled, running down the stairs. She pushed her mom out of the way and grabbed Danny's arm. "Were going upstairs mom. And I don't care how much you think Danny is a bad influence on me. Keep your thoughts to yourself."

" Samantha, Dear-"

" Ugh. Just leave me alone." Sam said, dragging Danny behind her.

Once they were out of earshot Danny asked, " What's with her?"

Sam sighed. " She doesn't like you very much. Somedays she's more cool with it than others, but apparently not today."

" Huh. Anyways, there's something I need to tell you." Danny said as they entered her bedroom. " It's sort of serious."

" What's that?"

" I... Um. Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but... Basically, Clockwork said that I need to rule the ghost zone, or both our worlds will um... Be destroyed." Danny said, scratching the back of his neck. Sam stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing.

" Oh, right... That's... Very likely..." Sam said in between giggles.

" Sam. I'm serious." Danny said. " I have two weeks to decide."

Sam stopped laughing and stared at her boyfriend. " You're... Not joking?" she asked.

" I'm not joking." Danny confirmed. Sam just stared at him.

" Um... Can you clarify this better?" She asked.

•.•.•.

**Hmmm... Do you think Danny should take up his role and rule the ghost zone, or should he leave both worlds to fall, leaving this story with a drastic and terrible ending?**


	10. Chapter 10

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

**And I feel like an idiot. I can't belueve I posted the same chapter again. It was a mistake so sorry. Ugh. I hate myself. Can we forget it ever happened? **

**Anyway, I was just kidding about making this story have a drastic and terrible ending... Even though it would be kinda cool... But then again, this wasn't labeled angst or tragedy or anything, so you've got nothing to worry about. If you do want to read a story with a tragic ending, I have wrote a couple of those... In my more brooding moods.**

•.•.•.

Sam sat on the bed, not believing what she'd just heard. So Danny could either let both worlds perish, or step up to the throne. Quite a big decision, considering.

She couldn't help but selfishly think about the fact that if Danny did take the throne, she would barely ever see him again. She was sure being king wasn't just a part time occupation.

She didn't want him to do it. She wanted to selfishly keep him near her. And besides, he would have to almost completely abandon his human life...

" Sam?" Danny asked eventually, wanting to know her thoughts. She looked up at him.

" Hm?" she asked.

" Well? You've been quiet for a while." he said.

" I'm thinking." she responded. " But what would happen of you did decide to... Rule the ghost zone? Would I still see you? Would you still go to school? What would happen to your human life?"

Danny's eyebrows pushed together. " I don't exactly know. But I do know that I would never leave you. I can't. I just... just... Can't." he looked down. " Your so important to me, Sam. You have no idea."

" Oh, I think I have some idea." Sam said as she pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. He kissed her back immediately, encircling her in his arms.

" Sam?" Danny asked when they pulled apart.

" What is it Danny?" she asked, finding his hand and entwining their fingers. Danny paused for what seemed like a long time.

" I want you to come with me." he said eventually.

" What do you mean?" Sam asked.

" Clockwork told me to come see him when I decide. I want you to come with me." Danny clarified.

" Okay." Sam agreed. " Have you decided though?"

Danny looked down and gulped. " Not exactly."

" What does that mean?" Sam asked suspiciously. Danny glanced up at her before looking back down again. " I have a few more questions to ask Clockwork before I decide. I want to know what I'm getting into."

" That sounds reasonable." Sam said. Danny nodded. " When are we leaving?"

" Now." Danny told her.

" Like... Now now?" Sam asked.

" Yes. Come on." Danny grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him. They headed down the stairs and out the door without any encounter with her parents. Once they made it out of the house Danny ducked in an alley to go ghost. He lifted Sam up bridal style and flew her back to his house, completely forgetting about the tracker.

He phased down into the lab and opened the portal.

" We can take the specter speeder." Danny said, pressing a button that moved the wall away to reveal it. But it wasn't there. Well, it was. But it looked like it was in the process of being remodeled. It was just a skeleton, it looked un-operational. " Dang it!" Danny exclaimed.

" What happened to the specter speeder?" Sam asked, walking up to it.

" I don't know. Maybe my parents have been working on it. Maybe their trying to make it faster or something." Danny shrugged. " But either way, you can't come with me now. It's too dangerous for me to carry you all the way across the ghost zone."

" Why not? I'll be fine, Danny. You worry too much." Sam said, crossing her arms.

" Sam, it's too dangerous. I won't even be able to defend you if you come along. With the specter speeder not operational, you could get hurt." he hesitated, " Even I could get hurt. Don't worry, I'll be right back."

With that; Danny turned his back and flew into the ghost zone. Sam sighed and turned for the stairs, but before she could get far Danny's parents trampled down the stairs.

" Where is that Ghost kid?" Jack boomed. " Our tracker indicated that he was here in our lab."

" Oh! Hello, Sam!" Maddie said, noticing the girl. " Where's Danny?"

" He's... Umm... Out. I have to go meet him." Sam lied as she dashed up the stairs behind them. Danny's parents stared after her for a moment before shrugging and turning back to their tracking monitor.

" The ghost boy must be using our portal to enter and exit the ghost zone." Maddie stated, staring at the small device. Jack nodded his head in agreement.

" We should lock the portal. That way he- and all the other ghosts- will stay in there!" Jack reasoned.

" Good thinking, Jack!" Maddie exclaimed, walking over to the key pad lock and punching in the code. Metal bars sealed the portal shut with a heavy creaking sound. " Now we won't have to worry about that Phantom anymore."

" Yeah. And now we can disable this tracker!" Jack said, smashing the monitor on the lab floor. Maddie gasped.

" Jack Fenton!" she yelled. " Now we won't know what he's up to in the ghost zone! That bracelet will fall off if it doesn't have a signal from our device. Now we basically set him loose without any chance of finding him!"

Jack cringed and looked down at the shattered tracking device. " Sorry." he muttered. Then his expression brightened. " But we can always build another one! A better one! I'll work on that now." Jack scraped up the broken monitor, and placed in on a counter and began to scrap it for working parts. Maddie looked at her husband and sighed, before walking up the stairs.

•.•.•.

Sam sighed as she walked back to her own house. So much for coming with him. She just hoped he would get the answers he needed. Her mother basically attacked her once she got in the door.

" Sam!" Her mother said, grabbing her daughters arm and dragging her into the living room. Sam groaned.

" What now?" she asked, irritated.

" I've bought you new clothes!" Pamela exclaimed. Sam groaned again.

" Pink?" Sam asked in horror. Her mother shook her head.

" Black!" she said cheerily. Sam raised her eyebrows.

" Really?"

" Well, I wanted you in a good mood." Her mother confessed.

" What for?" Sam asked. Pamela took a deep breath.

" We are going to tour Europe for three weeks."

" What? Three weeks. Oh, mom. I cant be away from school that long!" Sam protested, internally thinking that she can't be away from Danny that long.

" Honey! That's great! I thought you would be mad that we were going to leave you here."

Sam paused. " You mean I'm going to have the house to myself for three weeks?"

" Well. You've got your grandmother to look after you. Be careful, no staying out later than 9:00. No inviting friends or boyfriend over night. No skipping school. You'll be fine."

" When are you leaving?" Sam asked. She was ready to throw all those rules out the window.

" Were leaving in two days."

" Okay... Cool." Sam said, turning for the stairs.

" Wait!" her mother called. Sam looked back.

" What?"

" You have to try on all of your new clothes before we leave! Here." she handed Sam about ten bags. " Go change into the first outfit. I want to see them on you. In case we have to return anything."

Sam looked at all the bags and groaned again.

•.•.•.

Meanwhile, Danny was flying through the ghost zone, steadily approaching Clockworks lair. Suddenly there was a burning sensation on his wrist. He stopped flying and clutched it. It felt like the metal was melting off his skin.

" Oww!" he screamed. He frantically pulled on the bracelet, tugging it with all his might. Surprisingly, after a few seconds of struggle, it came off. The burning sensation faded. He sighed. " I wonder what that was." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He dropped the useless bracelet and it fell down into the dark abyss of the ghost zone, gone forever. Danny continued on his way.

He soon reached Clockworks lair. He flew in and landed on the floor. He turned to see a swirling circle, which was showing some sort of future. It looked bleak. The human world was swimming with malicious ghosts, people were seen trying to fight them, some succeeded. It was mayhem for both. The scene changed, and showed the ghost zone. Many of the ghosts lairs were destroyed, smoking remains littered the place, but no ghosts were seen. They all must be out in the human realm fighting.

" Beautiful picture, isn't it?" came a voice. Danny looked over to see clockwork.

" Is that... What is going to happen?" Danny asked. Clockwork just stated at him.

" It's your decision. Do you want that to happen?" Clockwork asked eventually. Danny shook his head.

" I don't want that to happen." he said.

" Then what is your choice?" Clockwork asked.

" I don't know." Danny muttered. " There's so many things that I don't even know about ghosts."

" You will learn in time. But you must chose first. Take the responsibility." Clockwork advised.

" Wait!" Danny said. " What about my family? What about my friends? What will happen to my human life?"

" You would continue on with your adolescent life. You won't have to abandon anyone." Clockwork assured him. Danny let out a long breath. He didn't speak for a few minutes.

Eventually he said, " Okay. I'll do it."

•.•.•.

**I know, it's super short, but I've got a huge case of writers block. I hope I can make the next chapter longer, but I'm not making any promises.**


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